A “global health disaster” could occur if the Olympics are held in Rio de Janeiro this summer, a health expert said Thursday, as concerns about the Zika virus by athletes and tourists heading to the games reaches a fever pitch.
The World Health Organization attempted to tamp down concerns by issuing advice on Thursday for tourists and athletes attending the games in August. Brazil has had thousands of cases of the Zika virus, which scientists say causes a birth defect called microcephaly and may also cause a neurological disorder called Guillain-Barre Syndrome.
WHO and Rio officials have said that the virus, which spreads via mosquito bites, shouldn’t be as much of a problem since August is in Brazil’s winter and mosquitoes aren’t as prevalent.
However, a public health expert said the virus will still be around and that the games could hasten Zika’s spread around the world. Already more than 40 countries and territories have reported outbreaks.
A single traveler to the games could get the virus and take it back to his country.
“A few viral introductions of that kind, in a few countries, or maybe continents, would make a full-blown global health disaster,” according to Amir Attawan, a public health professor at the University of Ottawa.
Scientists may “disagree on how much the mass migration of 500,000 foreigners will accelerate the virus’ global spread and make the pandemic worse — but none can possibly argue that it will slow it down or make things better,” Attawan wrote in the Harvard Public Health Review.
The virus has hit Rio, having the most suspected Zika cases of any state in Brazil with 26,000, Attawan said.
While it may be true that Zika could follow the pattern of other diseases spread by mosquitoes and decline in Rio’s winter, “nobody actually knows because Rio has never experienced a winter with Zika before,” he said.
The WHO offered new advice Thursday for visitors and athletes for the summer games.
Visitors need to prevent mosquito bites by avoiding poor neighborhoods that don’t have piped water and poor sanitation. Those places, which can be ideal breeding grounds for mosquitoes, could heighten the risk of getting bit, WHO said.
Visitors also need to choose air-conditioned accommodations and keep windows and doors closed to prevent mosquitoes from getting in.
They also should wear clothing that covers a majority of the body and use insect repellent, WHO added.
Health officials have found 472 cases in the U.S., but the virus isn’t spreading via mosquito bites yet. Almost all of the cases are from people who traveled to a country where the virus is spreading.
However, government agencies believe that the virus has a high probability of spreading via mosquito bites this summer.
