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As It Happens

Ahead of Rio, a warning from Canadian swimmer who contracted dengue fever at event

As athletes are weighing whether the Rio Olympics are worth the risk of contracting the Zika virus, we hear from Annamay Pierse. She's the Canadian swimmer whose Olympic hopes were dashed after she contracted dengue fever at the Commonwealth games in New Delhi.
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Canadian Annamay Pierse went into the 2012 Olympic trials as the world record holder, but didn't perform well at the meet and was left off the team for London. (Ryan Remiorz/Canadian Press)

Annamay Pierse has two words for athletes going to the Olympics in Rio this summer: "be aware".

You need to realize this is a real thing. It's a very real possibility and take care of yourself.- Annamay Pierse

The former world record-holder in the breaststroke contracted dengue fever from a mosquito bite at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Dehli.

"It essentially ended my swimming career," Pierse tells As It Happens host Carol Off.  "I got dengue in October of 2010 and I was a year and a half out from the Olympics. You can't really be sick."

Dengue fever is a painful, debilitating disease transmitted by mosquito bites. Symptoms can include fever, headache, pain behind the eyes, severe joint and muscle pain, and fatigue, among others. Pierse says it was three months before she woke up without any pain. But she also says she rushed back to training too quickly.

(Courtesy of Swimming Canada)

"Looking back, I didn't take the proper time, I should have stepped away from the pool and let myself recover," says Pierse.

Media reports about pollution and "Delhi Belly" (traveler's diarrhea) didn't concern Pierse in the run up to the Commonwealth games. She says she doesn't even remember if she was warned about dengue fever before the Canadian team left for competition.

"I feel like we were probably told but you're in such a position that all you think about is your plan and you turn your mind off of the risks."

Her husband and paddler Mark Oldershaw will compete in this summer's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Pierse is watching news out of Brazil with a wary eye. Among the major headlines with less than six months to go: major outbreaks of both the Zika virus and dengue fever.

Negative headlines leading up to a major Games are nothing new. Air pollution was a hot topic ahead of the 2008 Beijing Olympics and fears of terrorism made news leading up to the 2012 London Olympics and 2014 Winter Games in Sochi.

In this photo Annamay Pierse is hugged by Mark Oldershaw after she failed to make the Canadian Swimming Olympic team at the Canadian Olympic Swimming Trials in 2012. (Graham Hughes/Canadian Press)

"The biggest conversation has been whether or not my daughter Josephine and I will go," says Pierse.

Dengue fever is particularly worrisome for Pierse, because contracting dengue a second time is more likely to lead to dengue hemorrhagic fever or dengue shock syndrome, which is associated with a high mortality rate.

Canada's Annamay Pierse was stunned by her results at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, India but discovered she had contacted dengue fever which forced her retirement. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press)

Pierse says when the time comes to leave for the Games, they will re-evaluate and make the best choice for them as a family.

Despite a tiny mosquito ultimately ending her swimming career and dashing her hopes of going to the London Olympics, Pierse says she doesn't regret going to New Dehli. She says she understands the passion of the athletes going to Rio, despite the risk.

Canada's Annamay Pierse says she was never the same after contracting dengue fever at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. ((Francois Xavier Marit/AFP/Getty Images))

"If you had told me before Beijing that I shouldn't go and I should have stayed home, there is nothing that would have stopped me. It was my dream since I was six years old to go to the Olympics."

She says athletes should not be blind to the risks of infection.

"The biggest advice I would give is to be aware. You need to realize this is a real thing. It's a very real possibility and take care of yourself."

With files from The Canadian Press

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