British and Japanese officials say Zika virus will not dampen Rio Olympics

The Zika virus outbreak in the Americas will not dampen the Rio Olympics in Brazil, according to British and Japanese Olympic officials.

Despite growing concerns from a number of nations, the British Olympics Association and the Japan Olympics Committee have stated that their athletes will perform in the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

These revelations were made clear during the signing of a memorandum of understanding in Japan that will see British athletes train in the Asian country ahead of the Tokyo Olympics 2020.

“British athletes are not reluctant at all to compete in Rio. We have a proud tradition of having been at every Olympic Games since 1896 – winter and summer – and all the British competitors are looking forward to it. And yes, the current issue is one that all national Olympic committees will be dealing with, and we’re speaking and working very, very closely with the organising committee and other agencies in Rio,” Lord Sebastian Coe, Chairman of the British Olympics Association said.

There have been concerns that a number of nations might boycott the games in August as the virus has infected about 1.5 million people in Brazil.

Tsunekazu Takeda, Chairman of the Japan Olympics Committee, said “Boycotting the Olympics? I haven’t heard about any such sentiment among Japanese athletes. We are all trying very hard to perform our best in Rio.”

The Rio Olympics has been marred by the spread of the mosquito-borne virus that has caused a wave of birth defects in Brazil. There are concerns the virus could affect athletes and visitors.