With the Olympics kicking off this week, many of Rio’s bodies of water contain high levels of pollution, including areas with viruses akin to raw sewage. Recent reports obtained by Reuters have surfaced that risky, drug-resistant super bacteria have been found in the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon in the heart of Rio, as well as in a river that empties into Guanabara Bay. Outdoor athletes are about to hold their breaths and dive head first into a pool of consequences. 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. In Rio, the main tourist gateway to the country, a centuries-long sewage problem that was part of Brazil‚Äôs colonial legacy has spiked in recent decades in tandem with the rural exodus that saw the metropolitan area almost double in size since 1970.
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The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) has defended the timing of a damning report on doping in Russia, a day after the International Olympic Committee blamed it for the uncertainty surrounding Russian athletes at the Rio de Janeiro Games. Biomedical expert Valerie Harwood has an advice for those visiting the country and planning to swim on the beaches: “Don’t put your head under water”.
Dr. Fernando Spilki, the virologist and coordinator of the molecular microbiology laboratory at Feevale University in southern Brazil whom AP commissioned to conduct the water tests, says the survey revealed no appreciable improvement in Rio’s blighted waters – despite cleanup promises stretching back decades. But if they are lucky enough, they might also sail past a few dozen dolphins that live in Guanabara Bay. Bacterial tests are the worldwide standard because they’re cheap and easy. By this June, adenovirus readings were lower but still hair-raising at 248 million adenoviruses per litre.
The testing revealed alarming spikes in fecal coliform levels – the very measure the state government uses to determine the safety of Rio’s recreational waters. The 300,000 to 500,000 foreigners traveling to Rio for the Games are also in danger, as several of the city’s world-famous beaches have shown high viral loads.
While causes of death can vary, they all originate in the degradation and human exploration of the bay says Haydee Cunha, a biology professor at Rio’s state university who studies the genetics of the Guiana dolphins at the Maqua Institute.
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OLYMPIC swimmers face a toxic combination of human sewage and pollution when they take to the waters at this month’s Olympic Games. “Unfortunately Rio de Janeiro missed the opportunity, maybe the last big opportunity” to clean it up.
