MLB Scraps Puerto Rico Games Over Zika Fears

Major League Baseball has scrapped a planned series in Puerto Rico amid players' concerns over the Zika virus.

The Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins had been scheduled to play two games in San Juan on 30 and 31 May.

But the league said in a statement on Friday that "numerous players expressed concerns about contracting and potentially transmitting the Zika virus to their partners".

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred "had no choice but to relocate the games", the statement said.

"MLB and the Players Association did everything possible to adequately address the concerns raised by players and still play the games in Puerto Rico, but despite extensive efforts, they were unable to develop a workable solution."

The games will now be played in Miami, Baseball said.

Puerto Rico, a US territory, is among several countries under a "Zika travel notice" by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The US State Department has issued travel alerts to more than 40 destinations over Zika concerns, mostly in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The virus is considered to be primarily spread by mosquito bites, but health officials have warned of the potential added risk of it being transmitted through sexual contact.

Scientists are in broad agreement that Zika causes microcephaly, a form of severe brain damage in newborns.

The virus is also linked to adult-onset neurological problems such as Guillain-Barre Syndrome, which can cause paralysis and death.