Bruce Aylward, MD, MPH, he WHO’s executive director for outbreaks and health emergencies, said during the question-and-answer part of the briefing that, in a nutshell, mass gatherings can amplify global spread, but the summer games in Brazil pose a much lower risk.
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Rio de Janeiro will benefit from hosting the Olympic Games, the president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach said as Brazil struggles to cope with its worst recession in decades.
Speaking after the committee’s third meeting, he said: “The evidence clearly shows that Zika virus does travel internationally and it does set up change of transmission in areas where the mosquito vector is present”.
The Zika virus remains a going concern in Brazil, and it has some experts wondering if the Olympics should be postponed.
The WHO panel said that Brazil should “continue its work” to intensify mosquito-control measures, especially around Olympics venues, and “ensure the availability of sufficient insect repellent and condoms for athletes and visitors”.
Last month, Canadian professor Amir Attaran and more than 200 colleagues wrote an open letter to World Health Organization, accusing it of shirking its responsibilities by not considering whether to recommend delaying or canceling the Rio Olympics. The babies were born with abnormally small heads, a condition threatening their brain development.
Brazil, which is hosting the Olympics and the Paralympics, is at the epicenter of the rapidly evolving epidemic that has spread to almost 50 countries, a lot of them in Latin America and the Caribbean. Brazil, by contrast, has more than 1,500 cases of microcephaly or other severe birth defects linked to Zika infections, according to the WHO.
The Games are slated for August in Rio.
World Health Organization declared Zika to be a global emergency in February.
Those health professionals, led by Dr. Amir Attaran, a University of Ottawa professor, were invited to advise the panel but some objected to being asked to sign a confidentiality clause.
Officials with the Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games have unveiled the medals that will be awarded to winning athletes during the games, as well as the Paralympic Games. He said ” other factors” could be affecting the reporting, such as the decisions women are making as they manage their pregnancies.
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“We will all collaborate, not just with words, but in meeting the financial needs”, he said, adding, “We will do that with the absolute conviction that we are creating something extraordinary for Brazil and for the world”. “They should not think if Kenya and Russian Federation are barred from Rio then they will win medals”, said Konchellah.
