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WHO supports holding Olympics in Brazil despite concerns of Zika virus
WHO reported that there is no need to change the location of the 2016 Summer Olympics, as holding the games in Rio de Janeiro will not have a significant impact on the international spread of Zika virus, according to a press release.
“Based on the current assessment of Zika virus circulating in almost 60 countries globally and 39 countries in the Americas, there is no public health justification for postponing or canceling the games,” the release said.
The agency, however, reiterated previous guidance advising pregnant women not to travel to areas with active transmission, and it encouraged their partners returning from these areas to receive counseling on safe sexual behaviors.
To reduce the risk for infection, WHO reported that anyone traveling to the Olympics should:
- follow their countries’ travel advice and consult a health worker;
- use insect repellents and wear appropriate clothing, when possible;
- practice safer sexual behaviors such as correct and consistent condom use or abstain from sex during their stay and for a minimum of 4 weeks upon returning to their home country;
- select air-conditioned accommodations with closed windows and doors; and
- avoid visiting areas with poor sanitation.
According to the release, WHO and its regional office for the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization, will provide advice to Brazil’s government and the Rio 2016 Organizing Committee on how to reduce the risk for Zika virus in athletes and visitors during the games. The agency is particularly focusing on how to reduce populations of Aedes mosquitoes that transmit Zika virus, chikungunya, dengue and yellow fever.
Perspective
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Recent experiences with emerging infectious diseases have highlighted their unpredictability and the risk for regional and global spread. Concerns about the role of mass gatherings in accelerating geographic dissemination and introduction of diseases into previously unaffected settings are understandable. The ongoing Zika virus epidemic has already provided a number of surprises in terms of clinical manifestations (most notably microcephaly and Guillain-Barré syndrome) and sexual transmission of the virus.
The timing of the upcoming Olympic Games in the epicenter of the ongoing Zika epidemic has generated concern and debate regarding possibly delaying or canceling the Games in the face of a WHO-declared Public Health Emergency of International Concern. The debate focuses on risk perception, risk assessment and risk management and provides an opportunity to increase public awareness of the problem and factors contributing to its emergence, persistence and prevention with emphasis on personal protective behaviors and measures. There is general agreement that pregnant women and those contemplating pregnancy should not travel to areas where Zika transmission is occurring. The debate revolves around the risk for infection and illness for other travelers to epidemic settings and the risk for further international spread of the virus by infected travelers and subsequent local transmission after their return home to areas harboring Aedes aegypti.
These concerns emphasize the need to intensify surveillance and prevention efforts in Brazil and reinforce prevention messages for athletes, staff, spectators and others planning to travel to Brazil. This situation also highlights the urgent need for additional funding to strengthen surveillance and control programs for vector-borne diseases in areas of the United States and other countries at risk for local transmission after the return of infected individuals.
The recent decision by WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, MD, to convene members of the Zika Emergency Committee to examine current evidence and discuss the risk of holding the Games as scheduled is welcome as is her commitment to disseminate the results of the deliberations and the recommendations of this expert group in a timely manner.