Zika Virus Prompts Rio 2016 Olympic Games Concern from IOC

IOC president Thomas Bach says that the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro will “overwhelm” the world, despite Brazil’s deep financial crisis.

The International Olympic Committee sent the note last Friday to all national Olympic committees and outlined medical advice. This has led to athletes and tourists being told to carefully weigh up their decision to travel to Brazil for August’s Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.

This week in Rio de Janeiro, more than 3,000 city workers have been spraying insecticide and searching for mosquitoes in preparation for the upcoming festivities.

The New Zealand Olympic Committee will support any female athlete who chooses not to compete in Rio because of the risk of contracting the Zika virus.

CIFP, which was founded by UNESCO and a group of global sports governing bodies in 1963 with the goal of promoting of good sporting conduct around the world, has launched its Rio 2016 Fair Play Awards in partnership with the worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC).

The virus is transmitted by mosquitoes and while the initial symptoms are relatively mild in most people, Zika is believed to be linked to microcephaly, which causes babies to be born with shrunken heads and damaged brains.

Several countries are already warning their athletes about the virus with the Australian team recommending team members not leave windows or doors open when staying in Rio and use air conditioning instead. “It’s a tricky situation for us, because everything is paid for in advance – airfare, hotels, ground transportation”, Stengele said.

The WHO warned that Zika was spreading “explosively” and said its estimate of cases covered all infections, including those of people who might not report, or experience, clinical symptoms.

In Great Britain, pregnant women or women planning to become pregnant are being advised to reconsider travel to areas affected by the Zika virus.

“However, if you’re not pregnant I don’t think I would avoid going to Carnival or the Olympics for any reason whatsoever”, he says.

“The organizing committee will follow the virus prevention and control measures provided by the authorities and provide relevant guidance to Games visitors”.

“It’s a step in the right direction to inspect facilities, but this is something that should have been done on a broader basis five years ago, not just in the months before the Games”, said Carlos Granato, an infectious diseases specialist at the Federal University of São Paulo.