IOC to advise national Olympic bodies on Zika virus

Brazil’s Health Ministry said in November that Zika is linked to a foetal deformation known as microcephaly, in which infants are born with abnormally small heads and brains.

The government has increased spending on testing kits, with 500,000 on order, and sent municipal health workersonto the streets ahead of the carnival in a bid to combat the mosquitoes spreading the virus.

The WHO, which declared Thursday that the Zika virus was “spreading explosively”, will hold an emergency meeting of independent experts Monday to decide if the outbreak should be declared an worldwide health emergency.

Speaking to reporters in Switzerland, Dr. Sylvain Aldighieri said the lack of immunity to the virus and the fact the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that spread it can be found nearly “everywhere in the Americas” – except for Canada and Chile – “explains the speed” of its development.

But even as authorities knock on doors to warn people about the virus and spray tourist sites and mosquito hotbeds with insecticide, public health officials see no easy solution because the area is rife with the insects that transmit Zika and there is no vaccine.

An outbreak of the mosquito-borne disease – which is being linked to severe birth defects – has caused growing concern in Brazil and overseas.

McCormack believes the chance of a pregnant athlete competing at the Summer Games is “very, very small”, but says Zika would be a serious issue for any Canadian team support staff or athletes’ friends and family travelling to Rio if they are pregnant.

“But yes I suppose those thinking of the future…but no it won’t affect my plans”.

Infectious disease specialist Kyle Petersen spent years studying Zika virus as commanding officer of Naval Medical Research Unit 6 (NAMRU-6) in Lima, Peru.

He added that teams were reviewing Olympic venues daily to eliminate problems like stagnant water where mosquitoes can breed.

“With this in mind, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is closely monitoring the situation with Zika in Brazil”.

The IOC and the Hellenic Olympic Committee previously helped to provide sporting facilities at the centre. The IOC has already provided sports scholarships to a number of these refugee athletes. “At the same time, National Olympic Committees should consult with their national health authorities to get advice and guidance”, it said in its note to NOCs and worldwide sports federations.

Women wrestlers take precautions: The U.S. women’s wrestling delegation in Brazil includes six women, four of them wrestlers.