Jabs for swimmers over Seine sewage concerns

Team GB marathon swimmers in Paris will be vaccinated for typhoid and hepatitis amid concern over water quality in the Seine, according to reports.

Approximately 1.4 billion euros (£1.2bn) is believed to have been spent to upgrade the French capital’s sewage system and water treatment capabilities ahead of this summer’s Olympic Games, which would see some of the first swimmers take to the river since the activity was banned due to health risks in 1923.

With fewer than 100 days to go until the opening ceremony – also scheduled to take place along the Seine – confidence in the river’s cleanliness remains unsteady, particularly after a report published by European water and sustainability charity the Surfrider Foundation earlier this month found what it said were concerning concentrations of E.coli and enterococci in the Seine.

Team GB swimmer Hector Pardoe said: “We’re going to have a typhoid and hepatitis A vaccine beforehand and be on antibiotics after the race, regardless of what the water samples show.

“I haven’t had to take precautions like this before, but the last thing (AquaticsGB) wants to do is to put any of us in jeopardy, so they are being cautious in the run-up to Paris.”

Triathlon swimming legs at both the Olympics and Paralympics are also scheduled to take place in the Seine, from which the Surfrider Foundation has been taking bimonthly samples for the last six months.

Of the 14 samples taken, its report said: “Only one enabled us to conclude that the quality of the water in the Seine at this point was even satisfactory... it is clear that the athletes taking part will be taking risks to their health.”

High levels of the bacteria were found in the Thames ahead of last month’s Boat Race, after which one Oxford rower blamed “poo in the water” for several members of his losing crew falling ill.