Refugees will be honored at Rio Olympics — IOC’s Bach

A group of refugee athletes will march together in the opening ceremony of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in a symbol of hope for the world’s migrants, IOC President Thomas Bach said Thursday.

The Brazilian government is breaking out the troops to combat the Zika virus, and soldiers will be going door-to-door to distribute educational pamphlets and warn residents.

The Zika virus is said to be behind birth malformations through mother-to-child transmission, with some 4,000 babies born with unusually small heads.

Health fears are nothing new in Rio, where sanitation is far below standards of more developed nations.

Greece became the main gateway for more than a million refugees who began arriving in Europe previous year, most fleeing war and persecution in countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan. Women who may be pregnant have been urged to discuss the trip with their health care provider. That connection has still not been proved.

Researchers are seeing if major sporting events could contribute to the rapid spread of the Zika virus. “So the worldwide spread of the virus might increase substantially due to higher activity of mosquitoes”.

In the Southern Hemisphere, by contrast, it is summer right now, and mosquitoes are rapidly spreading the disease in Brazil and other warm parts of Latin America and the Caribbean.

“It is also important to note that the Rio 2016 Games will take place during the winter months of August and September, when the drier, cooler climate significantly reduces the presence of mosquitos and therefore the risk of infection”.

“There is one or the other minor thing to do, and of course it is the same for other countries, and it is the same for the Brazilians”.

“Mexico will be there, Nigeria will be there, six countries that have qualified for the Olympics will be there so we are hoping to get a foot in”, said Da Gama.

Some Brazilian virus specialists contend that the measures adopted by Olympic officials are meagre given the scope of the Zika epidemic in Brazil.

It said Games officials would “continue to monitor the issue closely”.

The IOC said the World Health Organization does not recommend any change to travel plans, but noted that some national authorities have recommended “on a precautionary basis” that pregnant women should consider avoiding travelling to areas infected by Zika.