Francisco Rodriguez says he suffered from the Zika virus during the off-season

Detroit Tigers closer Francisco Rodriguez knows what it’s like to have the Zika virus and says he can understand why some potential Olympic athletes might consider skipping the Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro this year because of the outbreak.

“I wouldn’t blame them,” Rodriguez told ESPN.com. “If they have plans to have kids in the future, you’ve got to think about it. You have to be aware of that as well. You have to do some homework, some research about it.”

K-Rod, who spent the first seven years of his career with the Angels, said he contracted the virus back home in Venezuela. While he first had symptoms similar to those of a common cold, Rodriguez figured out quickly that it was something much more serious.

“It wasn’t a cold. A cold, you have a sneeze, have a headache, take a couple Tylenol and you’re done,” said Rodriguez, who had blood work done that confirmed it was Zika. “You don’t have a cold for two weeks, you don’t have a body ache for two weeks, you don’t have headaches, throwing up, weaknesses for two weeks.”

Rodriguez said it took him two months to fully recover from the illness.

Last week, a group of 150 professors, scientists and doctors sent an open letter to the World Health Organization, insisting that lingering concerns about the Zika virus call for the 2016 Summer Olympics to be postponed or moved.

But the WHO, which declared in February that the spread of Zika in the Americas was a global emergency, issued a statement the next day, saying there is “no public health justification” for making such a move.

The organization reiterated its recommendation that pregnant women should not travel to areas with a risk of Zika transmission, along with other advice concerning the virus.

Rory McIlroy, Pau Gasol and Serena Williams are among the athletes who have expressed concern about competing in the Olympics under such conditions.

“It’s something people have to be careful with and worry about,” Rodriguez said. “There’s no vaccine for it. It’s not like you take a shot and [improve].”

Times staff writer David Wharton contributed to this report.