The statement by the Geneva-based United Nations health agency comes one day after a group of doctors, scientists and bioethicists wrote a letter to the organization calling for the August 5-21 Games to be postponed or moved because of concerns of the spread of Zika. But the World Health Organization declined the call, saying Brazil “is one of nearly 60 nations and territories” where Zika has actually been discovered which people continued to travel between these countries and territories for a variety of factors. Moreover, reports indicate that there is a link between the virus and microcephaly which leads to babies being born with small heads with undeveloped brains.
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“Canceling or changing the location of the 2016 Olympics will not significantly alter the global spread of Zika virus, r eported World Health Organization in their statement”. As host country, Brazil is guaranteed at least one participant in the 60-player field.
Zika infection in pregnant women has been shown to be a cause of the birth defect microcephaly and other serious brain abnormalities in babies.
” We reside in an exceptionally interconnected world, global travel and trade are day-to-day activities that provide Zika virus a chance to spread out”, said Jonathan Ball, professor of molecular virology at the U.K.’s University of Nottingham.
“While the virus is the infectious agent of Zika, its real cause is Rio’s poor social conditions and sanitation – factors that lack a quick fix, and that are not helped when shrinking health resources are diverted to the Games”, the letter states.
The health advocates also noted that Brazilian Zika virus is observed to affect health like it was never witnessed before. If you have to go somewhere where Zika is spreading and you’re pregnant, be really careful about Mosquito bites.
There is no public health justification for postponing or canceling the games.
Not talking about them too much.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it sees no reason to delay or move the Games because of the mosquito-borne disease.
Its statement made no direct reference to Friday’s letter, which also pointed to what it called an “overly close” relationship between the agency and the International Olympic Committee.
“There are a lot of people sitting on the fence about it, but we all know that models about the scale of a risk can be flawed. I’m really just gonna have to go super protected”, the American said.
“I’d say that people should take proper precautions and if there are male athletes who are thinking about having children for example then they should think twice because of the sexual transmission risk issue”.
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The Games, which run from August 5-21, could not realistically be transferred elsewhere this year such is the scale of the event.
