In July 2015, the Associated Press reported that an independent analysis of water quality showed high levels of viruses and bacteria from human sewage in Rio’s Olympic and Paralympic water venues-levels that are up to 1.7 million times what would normally be considered alarming in the United States or Europe.
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And there are significant health concerns related to sporting events in Guanabara Bay, a major black eye on Rio’s Olympic project that has set off alarm bells among sailors, rowers and open-water swimmers. However, athletes whose sports take place in the water can reduce their personal risk with a few basic precautions.
Neil Fishman, a professor of infectious disease at Penn Medicine, added an additional note of caution about prophylactic antibiotics.
“Foreign athletes will literally be swimming in human crap”, Dr. Daniel Becker recently told the New York Times, “and they risk getting sick from all those microorganisms”. That sewage includes viruses and bacteria, which is why Valerie Hardwood, chair of the integrative biology department at the University of South Florida, recommended that people keep their heads above water in Rio.
A group of scientists tested Rio’s beaches for a year and discovered high levels of the dreaded superbug – drug-resistant bacteria that have been turning up in hospitals.
“Athlete safety is our priority”, Tania Braga, the head of Sustainability and Legacy at Rio, told CNN. Samples from the golden beaches at Copacabana and Ipanema revealed high levels of viruses, which recent studies have suggested can pose health risks particularly to babies and small children.
She said athletes must work with medical teams to minimize exposure as much as possible by showering immediately after leaving the water, covering any cuts and abrasions and preventing any ingestion or inhalation of water. With those levels of pollution, if athletes swallow just three teaspoons of water, they’re nearly certainly going to be infected with the viruses, according to the AP.
For the past year, media reports have painted a ghastly picture of the state of Rio’s waterways, which are blackened by the ceaseless flow of human waste from densely populated neighborhoods that lack modern sewage treatment.
With its stunning peaks, beaches and city skyline, Rio de Janiero should provide the ideal setting for Olympic sailing. Bacterial tests are the worldwide standard because they’re cheap and easy.
Just over a month before the games, biologist Mario Moscatelli spent more than two hours flying over Rio in a helicopter.
Relative abundance of phylogenetic groups to metagenomes (at class level) in three sites of Guanabara Bay. “Unfortunately Rio de Janeiro missed the opportunity, maybe the last big opportunity” to clean it up.
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