Amir Attaran, Professor at the University of Ottawa, joined the Norris and Davis show to discuss the risks associated with holding the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Concerns have elevated over the number of Zika Virus cases in Brazil and Amir Attaran believes moving or postponing the Olympic games is the best course of action: “Rio de Janeiro has more Zika cases than any other part of Brazil.
It tops the list. And it also has relatively high transmission of that disease. Why are we going there? If it weren’t for the Olympics, would anyone in their right mind say ‘I’ve got an idea. Let’s send a half million people into an epidemic zone.’ Nobody would say that.”
Zika virus disease (Zika) is a disease caused by the Zika virus, which is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito. The most common symptoms of Zika are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). The illness is usually mild with symptoms lasting for several days to a week after being bitten by an infected mosquito. People usually don’t get sick enough to go to the hospital, and they very rarely die of Zika. For this reason, many people might not realize they have been infected.
However, Zika virus infection during pregnancy can cause a serious birth defect called microcephaly , as well as other severe fetal brain defects. Once a person has been infected, he or she is likely to be protected from future infections.
Zika virus was first discovered in 1947 and is named after the Zika Forest in Uganda. In 1952, the first human cases of Zika were detected and since then, outbreaks of Zika have been reported in tropical Africa, Southeast Asia, and the Pacific Islands. Zika outbreaks have probably occurred in many locations. Before 2007, at least 14 cases of Zika had been documented, although other cases were likely to have occurred and were not reported. Because the symptoms of Zika are similar to those of many other diseases, many cases may not have been recognized.
In May 2015, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) issued an alert regarding the first confirmed Zika virus infection in Brazil. On February 1, 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Zika virus a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC). Local transmission has been reported in many other countries and territories.
In the hardest hitting article yet regarding the potential of a Zika virus outbreak at the 2016 Rio Olympics Games, Amir Attaran of the Harvard Public Health Review calls for the cancellation of the entire 2016 Rio Olympic Games to protect the public health.
The article pulls no punches, coming out swinging with allegations that the Zika virus is impacting more people than just pregnant women. Brazil’s Zika problem is inconveniently not ending. The outbreak that began in the country’s northeast has reached Rio de Janeiro, where it is flourishing.
Clinical studies are also mounting that Zika infection is associated not just with pediatric microcephaly and brain damage, but also adult conditions such as Guillain-Barré syndrome[1] and acute disseminated encephalomyelitis, which are debilitating and sometimes fatal.
Simply put, Zika infection is more dangerous, and Brazil’s outbreak more extensive, than scientists reckoned a short time ago. Which leads to a bitter truth: the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games must be postponed moved, or both, as a precautionary concession.
The article goes on to state that there are five primary reasons why the Olympics in Rioshould be canceled.
1. Rio de Janeiro is more affected by Zika than anyone expected.
2. Although Zika virus was discovered nearly seventy years ago, the viral strain that recently entered Brazil is clearly new, different, and vastly more dangerous
3. While Brazil’s Zika inevitably will spread globally — given enough time, viruses always do — it helps nobody to speed that up.
4. When (not if) the Games speed up Zika’s spread, the already- urgent job of inventing new technologies to stop it becomes harder.
5. Proceeding with the Games violates what the Olympics stand for.
The International Olympic Committee writes that “Olympism seeks to create … social responsibility and respect for universal fundamental ethical principles”
“Which leads to a simple question: But for the Games, would anyone recommend sending an extra half a million visitors into Brazil right now? Of course not”. Zika virus will likely continue to spread to new areas. Specific areas where Zika is spreading are often difficult to determine and are likely to change over time. If traveling, please visit the CDC Travelers' Health site for the most updated travel information.
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