‘Zika not taken seriously’
Health expert warns of Rio crisis to match that of Ebola
THE Zika virus is being mishandled by the World Health Organisation in the same way they mishandled the Ebola epidemic in 2013 that left more than 11,000 people dead, it is being claimed.
Jessica Ennis-Hill has already stated that she is gravely concerned about the crisis which is casting a shadow over the Rio Olympics and has said she is likely to miss the warm-up camp due to those fears.
Her coach Toni Minichiello said: ‘I think there’s a reluctance to talk about it but I have to believe it is being taken seriously — you just hope it is. The safety of athletes as people, regardless of medals, is important.
‘Will any of these bodies truly be thinking about what happens in two years’ time if there’s an athlete on the British team who has a child — and this affects men and women — who is affected by it? What will they think and where will they be?’
Canadian professor Amir Attaran is not convinced that everything is being done. He is among 152 global health experts who have publicly called for the Games to be halted or relocated on the basis that going ahead will hasten the spread of the disease worldwide.
He said: ‘The WHO screwed up with Ebola, acting deaf, dumb and blind to warnings of medical experts on the ground and they’re screwing up again on Zika.’ The condition is rarely fatal but can cause defects in babies where the mother has been infected, as well as brain disease. Pregnant women and those planning families have already been warned not to attend the Games.
Now the experts claim that Zika is so dangerous that an expected 500,000 visitors to Brazil for the Olympics will result in a ‘100-percent chance that the virus will be spread farther and faster than if the Games don’t take place’.
Attaran alleges that WHO, which has close links to the IOC via a variety of shared health-based initiatives, are ‘fatally compromised’ in their judgments and don’t want to upset ‘big sport’ by declaring the Games unsafe.
Dr Bruce Aylward, WHO’s most senior official dealing with Zika, says a risk assessment is ongoing and that, while WHO advice may change, for now they say the Games will be safe. He also said postponing the Games would ‘compromise the huge investment athletes and others have made in preparing for what should be a fantastic occasion’.
But Attaran added: ‘That attitude is indicative of the problem. WHO is too close to the IOC and is clouding scientific judgment. As a health protection agency, the concern should be health, nothing else.’