Move Olympics from Rio over fear of Zika virus, warn scientists

THE Olympics in Rio should be moved or postponed because of the ongoing Zika virus, global health experts say.

In an open letter to the World Health Organisation and the International Olympic Committee more than 150 experts called for major changes ‘in the name of public health’.

They say the virus – which causes birth defects – has more serious medical consequences than previously thought and that the emergency contains ‘many uncertainties’. One co-author said if the Games went ahead in August they risked becoming ‘the Olympics of brain damage’.

WHO declared the Zika epidemic to be a global emergency in February and in its latest assessment this week said it ‘does not see an overall decline in the outbreak’. Experts cited recent scientific evidence that the Zika virus causes severe birth defects, most notably babies born with abnormally small heads. In adults, it can cause neurological problems, including temporary paralysis.

The authors also noted that despite increased efforts to wipe out the mosquitoes that spread Zika, infections in Rio have gone up rather than down.

‘The fire is already burning, but that is not a rationale not to do anything about the Olympics,’ said Amir Attaran, a professor at the University of Ottawa and one of the letter’s authors. ‘It is not the time now to throw more gasoline on to the fire.’

WHO has already advised pregnant women not to go to Rio and says other travellers should avoid poor and overcrowded parts of the city. The UN agency also predicted the Zika risk in August would drop since it will be the South American winter and there should be fewer mosquitoes.

WHO director-general Dr Margaret Chan said earlier this month that the UN health agency is increasingly worried about Zika. However, she stopped short of recommending the Olympics be moved or postponed. Among the letter’s signatories are experts from more than two dozen countries in fields including public health, bioethics and pediatrics. One is a former White House adviser.

Concerns over Zika have already prompted the US swimming team to move its pre-Olympic training camp from Puerto Rico to Atlanta.

No Olympic Games have ever been moved from their host city because of medical concerns.

However, in 2003, world football authority Fifa decided to switch the Women’s World Cup tournament from China to the US on short notice due to the threat posed by the respiratory virus SARS.

‘No decline in the outbreak’