Unfortunately for those in Rio, they can not take any antibiotics to prevent themselves from picking up the virus. 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.
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Children try to catch a crab as they play on the polluted shore of Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, July 30, 2016. Reportedly, most efforts to clean up the water were blocked for reasons pertaining to the country’s budget.
The results show that ingesting even just 3 teaspoons of this water can cause you to be infected.
As for the contaminated waters, the only advice experts can give is for people not to stick their heads underwater. Since then, athletes have been taking elaborate precautions to prevent illnesses that could potentially knock them out of the competition.
Waste from houses, hospitals and streets all feed into the Guanabara Bay and scientists have warned athletes to not put their heads under the water.
Danger is lurking even in the sand. A year ago, the AP found Rio’s water to be laden with alarmingly high levels of sewage and to be riddled with viruses.
Brian Ward, Centre for the Study of Host Resistance, McGill University ” I’m sure it’s true that the water around Rio is far from pristine from a microbiologic point of view. The first sampling there, in March, 2015, showed over 26 million adenoviruses per liter; this June, over 37 million adenoviruses per liter were detected.
But Kristina Mena, a waterborne virus expert at the University of Texas, says there are “extremely high levels of pollution” in the water that will lead to high infection rates and illnesses such as diarrhea, respiratory infections, skin problems and eye and ear infections.
169-a-15-(Mario Andrada, chief spokesman, Rio Olympic Organizing Committee, with reporters)-“of the athletes”-Rio Olympic Committee chief spokesman Mario Andrada says the Olympic organizers are testing the water for bacteria, but not viruses”.
But while several reports and studies have found Rio’s water to be highly contaminated, it is worth wondering if the conditions are as dire as they seem to be.
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With its stunning peaks, beaches and city skyline, Rio de Janiero should provide the ideal setting for Olympic sailing.
