Pregnant 'Today' host Savannah Guthrie says she will skip the Rio Olympics because of Zika virus threat

In April, NBC news channel announced Guthrie would co-host the opening ceremony of the Rio Games

Guthrie says her second child with husband Michael Feldman is due in December (Getty Images)

American journalist and The Today Show co-host Savannah Guthrie says she's pregnant and will be skipping the upcoming Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro because of the Zika virus.

Guthrie made the announcement on the NBC program on Tuesday morning and cited doctors advice in deciding to skip the Olympics.

NBC had announced in April that Guthrie would co-host the opening ceremony of the Rio Games on 5 August.

Zika is known to cause birth defects, including microcephaly, in which the baby's head is smaller than expected because the brain hasn't developed properly. The virus is now in 60 countries, with Olympic host Brazil the hardest-hit nation.

Guthrie says her second child with husband Michael Feldman is due in December. The couple's first child, a girl, was born in August 2014.

Association Press