Zika virus risk at Olympics ‘low and manageable’
Print Edition
THE risk of Zika virus infections at the Olympic Games is both low and manageable, the chief of the World Health Organisation said yesterday, a week before the event kicks off in the Brazilian capital.
Nearly half a million people are expected to visit for the Games, many from the United States. Worries about security, the Zika virus and an economic crisis could deter travelers, with just under a third of event tickets as yet unsold.
Brazil has been hardest hit by the disease outbreak, and many physicians, competitors and potential visitors have expressed fears the Olympics could serve as a catalyst to spread the virus globally.
“We feel that the risk of Zika infection is low for an individual, and it is manageable,” Margaret Chan, director general of the world health body, told reporters in Beijing.
“As long as individuals take appropriate personal protective measures, including the use of a mosquito repellent, including wearing clothing that prevents mosquito bites,” she added.
The WHO assessment factored in the latest understanding of the disease and actions taken by Brazil, said Chan, adding that she would be going to the games in Rio de Janeiro.
There is currently no vaccine or treatment for Zika, which is spread primarily through the bite of an infected mosquito, although it can also spread through sexual transmission.
Chan advised Games visitors to “practice safe sex ... use condoms.”
Mysterious Florida infections
FLORIDA’S governor says the US state has concluded that four mysterious Zika infections likely came from mosquitoes in the Miami area.
Governor Rick Scott yesterday said that no mosquitoes in the state have tested positive for Zika. But he said one woman and three men in Miami-Dade and Broward counties likely contracted the virus through mosquito bites. More than 1,650 Zika infections have been reported in the US, but the four patients in Florida would be the first not linked to travel outside the US mainland.
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