A collection of 150 health experts want the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro either postponed or moved because of the Zika virus.
“The Brazilian strain of Zika virus harms health in ways that science has not observed before,” an open letter from 150 health researchers and professors to the World Health Organization said.
The letter comes a day after the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that it was still fine to go to the Olympics this August, but to take precautions that help avoid getting bit by mosquitoes, the primary way to contract Zika. The virus has infected more than 1 million people in Brazil since the outbreak started last May.
Zika causes a mild illness, but the CDC has confirmed a link between Zika and the birth defect microcephaly. It may also cause a neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
In the letter, the experts take aim at a common argument from Rio and Olympic officials: that since the games take place in Brazil’s winter months, the mosquito population will be low.
“While lower mosquito activity during Rio’s winter months reduces the individual risk to travelers of infection, that is partly offset when travelers who became infected return home during the northern hemisphere’s summer months and peak mosquito activity,” the letter noted.
Currently, mosquitoes in the U.S. are not carrying Zika. However, the CDC believes that could change with the onset of mosquito season.
The letter said that other factors are in play besides the season.
For one thing, Rio has been hit hard by the virus and has had 32,000 cases. Rio’s health system is also “severely weakened as to make a last-minute push against Zika impossible,” the letter added.
It also noted, “Rio’s mosquito-killing efforts are not meeting expectations, but rather mosquito-borne disease is up this year.”
The Summer Games start Aug. 5 and run until Aug. 21.
