As fears about the Zika virus grow, Scotland’s leading health professionals are warning athletes to think twice before going to the 2016 Olympics in Rio.
Hugh Pennington, one of the country’s foremost experts on the virus, told the Sunday Herald that athletic governing bodies should threaten to pull out of the games unless Brazil’s authorities can guarantee they can do something to control the mosquito infestation.
Medical advisers to the International Olympic Committee says it sees no reason to delay the games because of Zika. The outbreak, which began in Brazil twelve months ago, is now in more than 60 countries.
Pau Gasol skips Rio
Spanish basketballer Pau Gasol is thinking about skipping the 2016 Olympics because of Zika. He told reporters there was not certainty about the situation in Brazil. “Anyone going to Rio for the games should think about it,” Gasol said.
Gasol also told reporters that other Spanish athletes have shared their concerns and are thinking of skipping the games as well.
“It wouldn’t surprise me to see athletes choosing not to participate in the games to avoid putting their health at risk.
Brazil has been hit by Zika, the mosquito-carried virus which has been linked to birth defects and possibly neurological problems in adults.
Gasol claims he is being proactive and has tried to gather as much information about the virus as possible. He claims to have contacted experts in the region to learn more.
“I feel responsible for knowing more about the situation; it’s important to talk openly as it is a very delicate situation,” said Gasol.
Other athletes consider skipping
Even before the Zika virus became an emergency, there was controversy about safety at the Olympic games.
As if violent crime, human rights abuses, and terrorist attacks weren’t enough, there is rickety infrastructure to worry about. In April, two people died when a bike path built between venues collapsed. Then there is the problem of raw sewage in Rio’s waters.
Olympic sailors, swimmers and rowers have signed up to compete in conditions that would require Hazmat suits anywhere else.
Not one bit of this bothered the athletes. “You can get sick anywhere; this is life,” an American triathlete told ESPN. Many other athletes told media outlets the same.
Zika has got a different response. Two golfers, Marc Leishman from Australia and Vijay Sing from Fiji, who were expected to represent their nations in Rio. Now they have pulled their names because of their concerns.
U.S. soccer star Hope Solo is participating “begrudgingly”. Solo told reporters she may not even leave her hotel room unless it is absolutely necessary. Solo’s teammate, Alex Morgan, called the risk of contracting Zika “scary” and a “concern.”
A Canadian doctor, Amir Attaran, wrote in the recent issue of Harvard Public Health Review that the “Zika infection is more dangerous than scientists reckoned just a short time ago.”
Zika concerns reach New York City
In New York City, there have been over 100 cases of Zika, including 16 women who were pregnant when they learned they had the virus.
Now, with the travel between New York and Brazil, some physicians are worried that the number of cases will rise.
“Our concern is we feel we are seeing the tip of the iceberg,” said Marina Gafanovich, an internist on the Upper Eastside of Manhattan.
The symptoms of Zika include fever, rash, and joint pain. The disease is especially problematic for pregnant women because of the link to microcephaly.
On the city’s subways, bright yellow posters with images of mosquitoes urge New Yorkers to use repellent and be careful about travel to Zika-infested regions.
While the mosquito known to carry the Zika virus, the Aedes aegypti, is found in Southern climates, and not in New York, health officials are working to fight another type of mosquito, the Aedes albopictus, which is located in New York and capable of passing on Zika.
The larger threat for New Yorkers is travel to an area affected by Zika. Physicians are urging pregnant women to avoid travel to regions hit by the virus and to use condoms if their partner has visited those areas.
“If the partner has gone to one of those regions, then using condoms to protect the mother is important,” Dr. Gafanovich said.
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