Kemar Bailey-Cole Contracts Zika Virus Ahead of Olympic Trials

Jamaican sprinter Kemar Bailey-Cole has suffered quite a few setbacks in recent times.

The Olympic hopeful was unfortunate enough to contract Chikungunya during his 2015 season and has also been plagued by hamstring problems.

Now the sprinter has revealed that he has been suffering from the Zika virus for the past few days.

He made the disclosure and expressed some concerns while speaking with the Gleaner recently.

“Yes, I am a little worried (about preparation), but I am not letting that get in front of me. I am just praying that I get the strength to carry me through the rounds,” Bailey-Cole stated.

“Recovering is not easy because as we speak, the rashes are still on my body. My eyes hurt, but the best thing is that I am not feeling any muscle pain at the moment.

Bailey also stated:

“I was experiencing back pains and muscle soreness, but I thought it was just soreness from the exercises I was doing,” Bailey-Cole said before sharing his disappointment with what he described as his worst level of preparation at this stage of a season.

“It is very disappointing but as I said earlier, I was training with it and didn’t know, so I still got in some work but not how I wanted it,” he said. “(I am) just going to trials with the mindset that I am healthy and ready.”

The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is generally mild with symptoms lasting from several days to a week , however it has been linked to microcephaly – a birth defect where a baby’s head is smaller than expected and Guillain-Barré Syndrome – a rare neurological syndrome that can cause death or temporary paralysis.

Source: The Gleaner

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