Olympic water in Rio may be ‘unfit’ for athletes

On Thursday, The Associated Press released the results of a five-month investigation that showed that Olympic venues are rife with disease-causing viruses and bacteria. This revelation alarmed global experts and anxious competitors already training in Rio, some of who have already fallen ill with fevers, vomiting and diarrhea – ailments could knock an athlete out for days, crushing any Olympic dreams they might have once had, according to AP.

Brazilian officials insist the water will be safe in time for the games, adding the medical of the director of the global Olympic Committee (IOC) says the city is “on track” for providing safe venues. Currently, tests evaluate bacteria, but not viruses.

Extreme water pollution is common in Brazil. Streams are filled with raw waste, fed by open air ditches which in turn run into the beaches and coastlines of Olympic water sites.

Despite that, water quality experts say it’s actually viruses that cause most waterborne diseases – and that there is little correlation between the numbers of viruses from human sewage in water to the bacteria found.

Ashley did not mention specific measures being taken in advance of Olympic test events and qualifiers in triathlon, sailing and open-water swimming scheduled for August in Rio. Griffith examined the protocols, methodology and results of the AP tests.

“The Olympic medal is something that you live your life for”, Bulaja said, “and it can really happen that just a few days before the competition you get ill and you’re not able to perform at all”.

Almost 1,400 athletes will be sailing in Guanabara Bay, swimming off Copacabana Beach and rowing on Rodrigo De Freitas lagoon. “There’s no point in going on about the quality of the water, the Olympics are going to be in Rio no matter what and so this subject is dead for me”, said Olympic gold medalist Marcelo Ferreira, according to Reuters. “Those kinds of things would be shut down immediately if found here”, Griffith, who works Southern California Coastal Water Research Project, said, referring to the U.S.

“What would be the standard that should be followed for the quantity of virus?”

But “we are aware that at other bays and lakes (in Rio) that the virus situation is bad”, Otsuka said.

ISAF, Rio 2016, the IOC, the Brazilian Government, Rio State Environment Institute (INEA) and State Environment Agency (SEA) are all working together to prepare for Rio 2016, and Brazilian authorities are working on guidelines and recommendations from the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure a safe and fair field of play for the athletes.

Instead, the test results found high counts of active and infectious human adenoviruses, which multiply in the intestinal and respiratory tracts of people. The AP also reported that during the bid to host the Olympic games Brazil officials had stated they would build four treatment plants to deal with the water contamination issues that the country faces. Illnesses, however, depends on some factors like immunity.