Brazilian health experts caution the Olympic sailors and marathon swimmers who are taking part in the Olympics of 2016 at Rio de Janeiro. The officials have reported that in vain were the efforts made to stop the flow of waste in to the “Guanabara Bay”.
While, the environmentalists inform that the waters at Rio seem to be “more contaminated than” it was perceived earlier. Recent tests have revealed that “rotaviruses that can cause diarrhea and vomiting to drug-resistant “super bacteria” rotaviruses that can cause diarrhea and vomiting to drug-resistant “super bacteria” that are capable of weakening immune system are present in Rio’s water.
A local paediatrician, Dr. Daniel Becker, exclaimed:
“Foreign athletes will literally be swimming in human crap, and they risk getting sick from all those microorganisms. It’s sad, but also worrisome.”
However, the International Olympic Committee along with the government officials assures that the location chosen for holding the competitive events like the waters off the “Copacabana Beach” abide with the “World Health Organization safety standards”.
While, they also inform that some venues like Guanabara Bay containing human waste pose minimal health risk, while windsurfing or sailing in these waters will only allow limited body contact with the water. However, the top environmental official at Rio de Janeiro, Andrea Correa, added:
“Our biggest plague, our biggest environmental problem, is basic sanitation. The Olympics has woken people up to the problem.”
On the hand, from the participants’ point of view, there have been concerns expressed about the same, whereby a member of “the Dutch sailing team”, Afrodite Zegers, said:
“We just have to keep our mouths closed when the water sprays up”.
While, the organisers inform that:
“Some athletes here for the Games and other competitions have been felled by gastrointestinal illness, including members of the Spanish and Austrian sailing teams. During a surfing competition here last year, about a quarter of the participants were sidelined by nausea and diarrhea”.
Even though, many athletes expect the historical events to take place without “serious complications”, yet the contaminated water ways of the city is a matter to worry about. Talking about the contamination, Nigel Cochrane, a coach, said:
“It’s disgusting. We’re very concerned.”
References:
http://www.nytimes.com/
While, the environmentalists inform that the waters at Rio seem to be “more contaminated than” it was perceived earlier. Recent tests have revealed that “rotaviruses that can cause diarrhea and vomiting to drug-resistant “super bacteria” rotaviruses that can cause diarrhea and vomiting to drug-resistant “super bacteria” that are capable of weakening immune system are present in Rio’s water.
A local paediatrician, Dr. Daniel Becker, exclaimed:
“Foreign athletes will literally be swimming in human crap, and they risk getting sick from all those microorganisms. It’s sad, but also worrisome.”
However, the International Olympic Committee along with the government officials assures that the location chosen for holding the competitive events like the waters off the “Copacabana Beach” abide with the “World Health Organization safety standards”.
While, they also inform that some venues like Guanabara Bay containing human waste pose minimal health risk, while windsurfing or sailing in these waters will only allow limited body contact with the water. However, the top environmental official at Rio de Janeiro, Andrea Correa, added:
“Our biggest plague, our biggest environmental problem, is basic sanitation. The Olympics has woken people up to the problem.”
On the hand, from the participants’ point of view, there have been concerns expressed about the same, whereby a member of “the Dutch sailing team”, Afrodite Zegers, said:
“We just have to keep our mouths closed when the water sprays up”.
While, the organisers inform that:
“Some athletes here for the Games and other competitions have been felled by gastrointestinal illness, including members of the Spanish and Austrian sailing teams. During a surfing competition here last year, about a quarter of the participants were sidelined by nausea and diarrhea”.
Even though, many athletes expect the historical events to take place without “serious complications”, yet the contaminated water ways of the city is a matter to worry about. Talking about the contamination, Nigel Cochrane, a coach, said:
“It’s disgusting. We’re very concerned.”
References:
http://www.nytimes.com/
