Zika Virus Update: Expert Urges Olympics to Postpone Activities to Avoid 'Full-Blown Public Health Disaster'
The 2016 olympics may ignite wide-reaching health disaster, expert says.
As the 2016 Olympics continues its preparations, more concerns are being raised regarding the healt hazards the festivities could ignite. Recently, an expert has warned people of the Brazil games, believing that pushing it through can cause a "full-blown public health disaster."
A report by Amir Attaran published in the Harvard Public Health Review journal states that the Zika virus will just need one infected tourist to spread an epidemic. "A few viral introductions of that kind, in a few countries, or maybe continents, would make a full-blown global health disaster," Attaran said.
Attaran, a faculty member of Medicine and Faculty of Law at the University of Ottawa, added that the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic games, which are set to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil starting August 5, need to be either moved to another location or postponed for a later date. He explained that halting the Olympics is a precautionary to ensure that Zika's outbreak in Brazil won't further affect those who are planning to attend or watch the festivities.
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The expert pointed out that the Zika virus has been more rampant in Brazil compared to other regions. While the International Olympic Committee said in January that Rio is a "safe environment," recent data suggest that the municipality may no longer be "safe" from infections.
To date, there are 26,000 suspected cases of the infection in Rio de Janeiro, putting it on the center of Brazil's Zika outbreak. The municipality has also recorded a massive number of Dengue cases in the first quarter of 2016: 8, 133 cases. Both Zika and Dengue are acquired through the bite of an Aedes mosquito.
Earlier this year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warned women against traveling to Brazil, El Savador, French Guiana, Haiti, Panama, Venezuela, and many other countries, especially if they are pregnant as Zika's transmission has been going on in those areas.
Women have also been discouraged from getting pregnant until the health scare is resolved. The warnings came after a good number of women who were infected with Zika while pregnant delivered children with microcephaly, a condition wherein a child is born with an abnormally small head, associated with staggered brain development.
ABC News' chief health and medical editor Dr. Richard E. Besser agreed with Attaran's report, saying, "As a public health person, the last thing you want during an outbreak is a lot of people coming in because it will spread faster."
Zika virus disease has the following common symptoms: rash, fever, joint pain, and conjunctivitis or redness of the eyes. While specific areas where the strain spreads may change through time, it is highly recommended that people refrain from visiting the areas mentioned above wherein Zika is rampant.
