There have been a few warnings to the athletes on the Rio waterways but the latest study from The Associated Press says the waters are contaminated with sewage that have risky viruses and bacteria. The 16 month study also indicates that tourists face a potential health risk by swimming on some of the beaches in the area.
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But antibiotics combat bacterial infections, not viruses. And the AP investigation found that infectious adenovirus readings – tested with cell cultures and verified with molecular biology protocols – turned up at almost 90 percent of the test sites over 16 months of testing.
“That’s a very, very, very high percentage”, Dr. Valerie Harwood, chair of the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of South Florida, told the AP. You would never, ever see these levels because we treat our waste water.
“We have some cuts, and as soon as you cut the foot or whatever, you can easily infect yourself, and it’s a problem”, Echavarri said.
Rio’s been struggling with high pollution levels for the water-based sports with headlines around the world from reports of dead bodies, furniture and raw sewage in sailing venue Guanabara Bay.
A medical expert offers advice to athletes and tourists traveling to Rio for the Olympics: “Don’t put your head under water”.
Even the sand isn’t safe. Even the sand is potentially hazardous, with beaches at Copacabana and Ipanema revealing high levels of viruses which recent studies have indicated pose a health risk – especially to babies and small children.
In this July 11, 2016 photo, Brazil’s national flag decorates the boat used to collect water samples from Guanabara Bay for an ongoing water quality study commissioned by The Associated Press in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) The chief spokesman for the Rio Olympics says, “I can guarantee in the name of Rio 2016 that the athletes can compete in safety”.
But it’s not just the athletes who are at risk.
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. Those standards state that beaches are considered unfit if tests turn up more than 2,500 fecal coliforms per 100 milliliters.
But there’s a growing consensus that they’re not ideal for all climates, as bacteria break down quickly in tropical weather and salty marine waters.
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That disparity was borne out in the AP’s testing.
