Rio 2016: Athletes warned to keep mouths closed
by Feliks Garcia
Athletes competing in the 2016 Olympic Games in Brazil have been
warned by doctors, engineers, and scientists to keep their mouths shut
while participating in activities in the water.
Researchers found that many of the beaches in Rio de Janeiro have
been long contaminated with raw sewage, household garbage, and even dead
bodies, creating hazardous swimming conditions for the 500,000 people
expected to descend on the city in August.
“Foreign athletes will literally be swimming in human crap, and they
risk getting sick from all those microorganisms,” Rio paediatrician Dr
Daniel Becker told the New York Times. “It’s sad but also worrisome.”
The Brazilian government had promised to clean the pathogen-infested
Guanabara Bay in 2014, but those efforts failed.
Stelberto Soares, a municipal engineer who has worked on Rio
sanitation issues for decades, said that the government’s efforts to
clean the waters were superficial at best.
“They can try to block big items like sofas and dead bodies, but
these rivers are pure sludge,” he said, “so the bacteria and viruses are
going to just pass through.”
“We just have to keep our mouths closed,” said 24-year-old Afrodite
Zegers of the Dutch sailing team – one of the 10,000 athletes from 205
countries competing in Brazil.
Scientists and researchers found a wide array of disease-causing
viruses and bacteria that can cause ailments such as diarrhea, vomiting,
and death in people will poor immune systems.
The International Olympic Committee maintained that the waters where
athletes will compete meet World Health Organisation safety standards.
The Games will get underway amid a tumultuous time for the South
American country. It is the veritable epicentre of the Zika virus global
health crisis, higher crime, a massive police strike, and impeachment
proceedings for former president Dilma Rousseff.
However, despite the political crises in the country, public health
advocates feel the Olympics have helped bring the issues of sanitation
to the attention of the international community.
“Our biggest plague, our biggest environmental problem, is basic
sanitation,” said Rio de Janeiro environment official Andrea Correa
said. “The Olympics has woken people up to the problem.”
- The Independent
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