‘Super bacteria’ in Rio’s Olympic venues, top beaches

Brazil’s Sports Minister, Leonardo Picciani, announced that Rio de Janeiro is prepared to host the Olympic Games, rejecting any concerns over the Zika virus outbreak in the country.

A separate Brazilian study, due to be published next month, found the genes of super bacteria in lagoons in the heart of Rio and in a river that empties into Guanabara Bay.

In 2015, the Associated Press ran tests throughout the city’s waterways, revealing that Rio’s iconic beaches were often as dirty as raw sewage.

The other four beaches where microbes were found were Ipanema, Leblon, Botafogo and Flamengo.

The bacteria can cause urinary, gastrointestinal, pulmonary and bloodstream infections, along with meningitis.

The contamination of one of the most populous cities in Brazil is a result of improper sanitation, according to Renata Picao from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro who led the study.

Flash forward to last fall, when Rio organizers stated they would be following the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guidelines of exclusively performing ongoing water quality monitoring via tests for bacteria and not for viruses.

“I would say to all athletes, to all visitors who plan to come to the Rio Olympics that they do not have to worry”.

Under normal circumstances, the super bacteria microbes now threatening the Rio Olympics are only found in hospitals, and the super bacteria found in Rio is also super concerning to experts because of its antibiotic resistance.

Copacabana, named as one of the major venues at the Rio Games, had 10 percent of samples contaminated. August 5 marks the one-year mark to the start of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.

The bacteria are understood to contribute to death in up to half of patients infected.

Cedae has denied any wrongdoing. Cedae said it carries out sewage treatment and collection in the entire “south zone” of Rio, where the bodies of water are located and where the water samples were taken.

“[The INEA] also said there was a lack of studies about the bacteria in water and health outcomes”, according to the Reuters report.

The super bacteria usually only shows up in hospitals, and is resistant to antibiotics. If a person ingests the infected organism, it will make its way through the gastrointestinal tract and then make the person ill. Scientists discovered that the lagoon is a possible breeding spot for super bacteria.

Adding: “Those genes are like candy. They are organic molecules and they’ll be eaten up by other bacteria, other organisms”, Harwood said.

The Rio 2016 organising committee said it would submit documents required to obtain the permit on Monday and ruled out any delays, reports Xinhua.

Two separate studies have detected potentially risky “super bacteria” in several venues for the 2016 Rio Olympics.