Notes
With games close, Rio waterways still filthy
1,400 athletes are at risk of violent illness, urged not to ‘put your head under water'
Just days ahead of the Olympic Games, the waterways of Rio de Janeiro are as filthy as ever, contaminated with raw human sewage teeming with dangerous viruses and bacteria, according to a 16-month-long study commissioned by the Associated Press.
Not only are some 1,400 athletes at risk of getting violently ill in water competitions, but the AP's tests indicate that tourists also face potentially serious health risks on the golden beaches of Ipanema and Copacabana.
The AP's survey of the aquatic Olympic and Paralympic venues has revealed consistent and dangerously high levels of viruses from the pollution, a major black eye on Rio's Olympic project that has set off alarm bells among sailors, rowers and open-water swimmers.
In light of the findings, biomedical expert
The most contaminated points are the Rodrigo de Freitas Lagoon, where Olympic rowing will take place, and the Gloria Marina, the starting point for the sailing races.
Sampling at the Lagoon in March 2015 revealed an astounding 1.73 billion adenoviruses per liter. By this June, adenovirus readings were lower but still hair-raising, at 248 million adenoviruses per liter. By comparison, in California, viral readings in the thousands per liter set off alarm bells.
Despite a project aimed at preventing raw sewage from flowing into the Gloria Marina through storm drains, the waters remain just as contaminated. The first sampling there, in March 2015, showed over 26 million adenoviruses per liter. This June, over 37 million adenoviruses per liter were detected.
The first results of the AP study published over a year ago showed viral levels at up to 1.7 million times what would be considered worrisome in the United States or Europe. At those concentrations, swimmers and athletes who ingest just three teaspoons of water are almost certain to be infected with viruses that can cause stomach and respiratory illnesses and more rarely heart and brain inflammation — although whether they actually fall ill depends on a series of factors, including the strength of the individual's immune system.
But antibiotics combat bacterial infections, not viruses. And the AP investigation found that infectious adenovirus readings — tested with cell cultures and verified with molecular-biology protocols — turned up at nearly 90 percent of the test sites over 16 months of testing.
“That's a very, very, very high percentage,” said Harwood, chair of the Department of Integrative Biology at the University of South Florida. “Seeing that level of human pathogenic virus is pretty much unheard of in surface waters in the U.S. You would never, ever see these levels because we treat our waste water.”
Neither swimmer qualified for the race at the U.S. Olympic trials a month ago. Phelps is set to compete in three individual events — the 100 and 200 butterfly and 200 individual medley — while Ledecky is the favorite in her three — the 200, 400 and 800 freestyle.
The World Anti-Doping Agency fired back Monday, a day after International Olympic Committee president
Bach said the agency should have acted sooner on evidence of state-sponsored doping rather than release the damning report by Canadian investigator
On Sunday, Bach defended the IOC's decision not to ban the entire Russian delegation from the Olympics, and said the IOC was not responsible for the timing of the latest WADA report, which came out July 18.