Olympic athletes going to Rio de Janeiro might come home with more than just a medal. Some public health officials are concerned about athletes, tourists and members of the media getting bitten by mosquitos carrying the Zika virus.
Brazil has become the epi-center for this emerging disease -- one that can cause birth defects by severely stunting the development of a baby's head. Although only about 20 percent of those exposed to the virus get sick -- everyone of those people becomes a carrier. 150 health professionals wrote this letter to the World Health Organization (W.H.O.), taking the unprecedented step of asking the games either be postponed or moved saying,
''The Brazilian strain of Zika harms health in ways that science has not observed before. An unnecessary risk is posed when 500,000 foreign tourists from all countries attend the games, potentially acquire the strain, and return home to places where it can become endemic."
Dr. Holly Fernandez-Lynch (@PetrieFlom), signed the letter to the W.H.O. She is the executive director of the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard University. From her perspective, the main concern is having athletes and tourists that could potentially carry the Zika virus return to their home country with a weak public health infrastructure, including the United States. Congress has not funded research regarding the Zika in a way that the CDC and the President has requested.
In response to public concern, the World Health Organization expressed that moving or cancelling the 2016 Olympics will not alter the international spread of the Zika virus. Dr. Tom Frieden of the U.S. Center for Disease Control does not find a public health reason to cancel or delay the Olympic games.
Dr. Fernandez shares some of the frequent changes to the CDC recommendations for people exposed to Zika. These changes included abstaining from or practicing safe sex for four weeks after being in area exposed to Zika, and now the recommendation is to abstain or practice safe sex for eight weeks after exposure. Due to the uncertainty the 150 medical professional who signed the letter feel that it is better to be safe than sorry.
Despite the warnings from health officials, athletes are willing to take the chance to compete in a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Andrew Campbell (@TheAndyCamps), a member of the U.S. Rowing team plans to compete in Rio de Janeiro this summer. From his perspective Brazil receives 6.4 million visitors each year, and 9 million Brazilians travel internationally. He feels that targeting the Olympics is a bit overblown in the media. The Olympics means a lot to the athletes, and for Campbell he would be willing to travel anywhere for the opportunity to compete, including Brazil. To move the games within a two-month period to another destination isn’t realistic.
