Bolt not scared of Zika for cringeworthy reason

World's fastest man Usain Bolt has caused a stir with controversial remarks about the ongoing Zika crisis in Brazil.

A plethora of athletes, including Aussie golfers Adam Scott and Marc Leishman, have withdrawn from July's Rio Olympics because of fears surrounding the deadly virus.

According to Reuters, Brazil has "registered 91,387 likely cases of the Zika virus from February until April 2," with Rio coming in with the most likely cases at 35,505.

And that's why some have cringed at a 'joke' Bolt made during an interview with NBC's Peter Alexander on the 'Today' show.

"Hopefully, by the time I get there, they'll have it under control. I'm sure they'll put things in place to sort it out. So I'm not really stressed right now," he said.

But after some nudging from Alexander, Bolt had a more flippant response.

Alexander: "Your mates on your team tell me that the mosquitoes usually stay away from you. What up with that - why are the mosquitoes intimidated by Usain Bolt?"

Bolt: "Because I'm fast. They can't catch me."

The remark was not taken jokingly on social media.

Bolt obviously meant no offense, but it's probably not the best issue to be joking about.