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Zika scare means Olympics Games should not be held in Rio, 150 top medical experts say


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The Summer Olympic Games set to open in August in Rio de Janeiro should be moved elsewhere or at least postponed because of the Zika virus, 150 of the world’s top doctors, researchers and medical ethicists have demanded in a letter to the World Health Organisation.

 

The blunt missive, delivered on Friday to the Geneva-based WHO, is the latest blast in a growing chorus of concern coming from both doctors and also from some athletes about the wisdom of going ahead with the Olympics given the severity of the Zika virus crisis in Brazil.

 

It also asks whether the WHO’s reluctance thus far to offer any kind of recommendations to reschedule or relocate the Games might be a result of a conflict of interest between itself and the International Olympic Committe, IOC. The two bodies signed a memorandum of understanding on future partnerships six years ago, the letter points out. 

 

“Many athletes, delegations, and journalists are struggling with the decision of whether to participate in the Rio 2016 Games,” it says. “We agree with the US Centres for Disease Control recommendation that workers should ‘Consider delaying travel to areas with active Zika virus transmission’. If that advice were followed uniformly, no athlete would have to choose between risking disease and participating in a competition that many have trained for their whole lives.”

 

Among the signatories to the letter is Amir Attaran, a University of Ottawa professor who wrote earlier this month in Time magazine that having the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro had become unwise. Dr Arthur Caplan, the director of medical ethics at New York University, co-authored the letter, as did NYU professor Lee Ingel and Christopher Gaffney from the University of Zurich.

 

“WHO must revisit the question of Zika and postponing and/or moving the Games,” the letter concludes. “We recommend that WHO convene an independent group to advise it and the IOC in a transparent, evidence-based process in which science, public health, and the spirit of sport come first. Given the public health and ethical consequences, not doing so is irresponsible.”

 

“What we’re really focused on is can we have transparent, open, frank, televised, out-in-the-open discussion with experts” unconnected to the Olympics, Dr Caplan told ABC News in New York. “We think WHO is close to the IOC. ... They work together a lot.”

 

There is concern not only for the athletes but also for hundreds of thousands of visitors expected at the Olympics.   Also cause for possible alarm is the impact all those visitors might have on helping the virus to spread further around the world when they return home afterwards.

 

“We’re worried about bringing the mosquito back to places it isn’t, like India,” Dr Caplan said. “You have people who will be infected and ... there are people literally coming from everywhere.”

 

The letter originally had 125 names attached to it but an additional 25 experts volunteered just on Friday to add their signatures to it.

 

In addition to the Zika threat, there have been concerns about elevated levels of pollution in some of the outdoor water-based competitions like rowing and sailing.  An elevated cycle track that was constructed along the sea’s edge also in preparation for the Games drew international headlines last month when a portion of it collapsed killing two people.

 

Brazil has been the hardest hit by the Zika crisis although it has now spread to 58 countries around the world.  The WHO declared it a global health emergency in February.  Bites from mosquitos infected with Zika have been connected to growing numbers of microcephaly, a birth defect that causes babies to be born with unusually small heads and underdeveloped brains.

 

The country has so far reported 20,000 probable Zika cases, and 1,300 confirmed cases of microcephaly.

 

The United States is attempting to ramp up preparations for possible occurrences of Zika within the 50 states although Congress this week left Washington for a two-week break without first passing funds medical officials have been demanding for researching and combating the virus.

 

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Failing to heed the warnings from these medical experts is tantamount to culpable negligence ...

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WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION REJECTS CALL FOR POSTPONEMENT

 

 

The World Health Organization (WHO) has rejected a call to move or postpone this summer's Rio Olympic Games over the Zika outbreak.

It said this would "not significantly alter" the spread of the virus, which is linked to serious birth defects.

 

In an open letter to the WHO, more than 100 leading scientists had said new findings about Zika made it "unethical" for the Games to go ahead. They also said the global health body should revisit its Zika guidance.

 

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it sees no reason to delay or move the Games because of the mosquito-borne disease.


The outbreak began in Brazil a year ago, but now more than 60 countries and territories have continuing transmission.

 

While Zika's symptoms are mild, in the letter the experts say it causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and may also cause a rare and sometimes fatal neurological syndrome in adults. The letter is signed by 150 international scientists, doctors and medical ethicists from such institutions as Oxford University and Harvard and Yale universities in the United States.

 

They cite the failure of a mosquito-eradication programme in Brazil, and the country's "weakened" health system as reasons to postpone or move the Olympics in "the name of public health".

 

"An unnecessary risk is posed when 500,000 foreign tourists from all countries attend the Games, potentially acquire that strain, and return home to places where it can become endemic," the letter says.

 

The biggest risk, it adds, is if athletes contract the virus and returned home to poor countries that have not yet suffered a Zika outbreak. They also express concern the WHO has a conflict of interest because of its partnership with the IOC.

 

The Rio Olympics are due to take place between 5 and 21 August.

 

In a statement, the WHO, which has declared the Zika virus a global public health emergency, said: "Brazil is one of almost 60 countries and territories which to date report continuing transmission of Zika by mosquitoes.

 

"People continue to travel between these countries and territories for a variety of reasons. The best way to reduce risk of disease is to follow public health travel advice."

 

Several public health experts had previously warned that hundreds of thousands of people arriving in Rio would speed up Zika's spread and lead to the births of brain-damaged babies.

 

But on Thursday, the head of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), whose advice is quoted approvingly in the letter, said the threat did not warrant halting the Games.

 

"There is no public health reason to cancel or delay the Olympics," Dr Tom Frieden said.

 

However, he urged the US to act more quickly to prevent pregnant women contracting Zika, amid congressional deadlock over the release of $1.9bn (£1.3bn) in funding.

 

 

 

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So, the us president asking for more money to fight zika could possibly mean the

money won't be spent in north america but rather be spent in south america ??

 

Why Not ? He want to resume weapons systems shipments to Viet Nam ... ??

 

This president must have multiple personalities ??

 

:s:lol:

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