One of the two latest studies show the presence of microbes at five of Rio’s beaches, including one where open-water and triathlon swimming is set to occur, Reuters reported. Researchers recently found this “super bacteria” in Rio’s Olympic venues and top beaches.
Advertisement
Seven years later, the water in Rio is still polluted, and the bacteria living in it is deadly.
“These bacteria should not be present in these waters”, says Picao.
Brazilian officials had initially pledged to greatly improve the long-standing pollution problem in time for the Games but have since acknowledged they will fall short of their goal.
By most accounts, the water systems in Rio are actually getting worse at the cusp of the upcoming Olympic Games. Ten percent of Copacabana’s samples had the microbes.
The scientists at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Diego that conducted the study claim the super bacteria can cause hard-to-treat urinary, gastrointestinal, pulmonary, bloodstream infections and meningitis.
It found that the lake is a potential breeding ground for super bacteria and their spread through the city.
A second study indicates the presence of the super bacteria in even more of Rio’s busy and sewage-laden waterways.
Additionally, Cedae, the waste-treatment company that carries out sewage treatment and collection in the entire “south zone” of Rio, is under investigation by the federal government for allegedly lying about how much sewage it treats, and worse, for purposely dumping untreated sewage into the waters off Rio.
The findings heighten the fear that Rio’s sewage-infested waterways are still polluted.
In 2013, we reported how almost 70% of Rio’s sewage went untreated, being dumped or runoff into waterways like Copacabana, leading fecal coliform bacteria levels to be measured at 16 times higher than the Olympic host nation’s satisfactory level.
Cedae has denied any wrongdoing. Experts are also anxious about the immediate risks to people’s health.
Under normal circumstances, the super bacteria microbes now threatening the Rio Olympics are only found in hospitals, and the super bacteria found in Rio is also super concerning to experts because of its antibiotic resistance.
“Those genes are like candy. They are organic molecules and they’ll be eaten up by other bacteria, other organisms”, and “That’s where the danger is – if a person then ingests that infected organism – because it will make it through their gastrointestinal tract and potentially make someone ill”.
A spokesman for the Rio 2016 Olympic organizing committee, which is responsible for the temporary structure, said the paperwork would be submitted on Monday and the issue would not delay completion of the arena.
Advertisement
According to Reuters, Rio state’s Inea environmental agency responded to the studies by stating that they follow “the World Health Organization’s recommendations for testing recreational water safety, and that searching for super bacteria is not included in that”.
