On Friday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said that pregnant women should avoid traveling to the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil because of Zika virus infection risk.

The CDC also suggested that women looking forward to conceive, and their male partners, must exercise suggested precautions and extra care in case they travel to the Olympics or Paralympic Games, which is going to be held in August and September in Rio de Janeiro.

The advisory said, “The CDC Recommends that pregnant women consider not traveling to the Olympics. If you have a male partner who goes to the Olympics, you may be at risk for sexual transmission”.

The statement by the CDC is the agency's first open warning for travelers to be at a safe distance from the Games in Rio de Janeiro, which will probably see around 400,000 tourists worldwide. Still there are five months for the Olympics, Brazilian authorities have been coming up with strong mosquito-control plans to minimize the risks to audience and tourists.

Even then, a Zika outbreak in the Americas has triggered concern in some people looking forward to attend the Games, and CDC's advisory may raise pressure on organizers who have till now, downplayed any risk that health concerns may have a bad effect on attendance.

On Friday, the Federal Drug Administration issued an emergency authorization for a fresh CDC laboratory Zika virus test that detects antibodies the body makes for fighting infection. The CDC mentioned that it is going to distribute the test to qualified laboratories in the United States in the coming two weeks.

There is so much still unknown about the virus, like whether it causes microcephaly in infants, a problem defined by abnormally tiny heads that can lead to developmental problems.