Zika virus not enough to cancel, postpone Rio Olympics

By Tiffany Bateman

On the eve of the Rio Olympic opening ceremony, Zika continues to be a major concern for many of the world's top athletes and health officials.

In recent months, there have been countless reports of professional golfers, tennis players and basketball players citing the Zika virus for avoiding the Games in the Brazilian seaside city of Rio de Janeiro.

There are now 240 signatures on a letter to the World Health Organization criticizing the body for a lack of action on Zika ahead of the Olympics, which officially start Friday. The letter started out with 150 names, and received plenty of media attention in late May.

The World Health Organization refused to act on the letter, which called on the body to urge the International Olympic Committee to cancel or postpone the Summer Games.

It turns out that many of the health professionals who signed the letter had no experience in the relevant field. (While many people infected with Zika may not have symptoms, the most common are fever, rash, joint pain, red eyes from conjunctivitis, muscle pain and headache. A prime concern is that Zika infection during pregnancy can cause microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects.)

A closer look at who signed the letter reveals they may not be experts in mosquito-borne illnesses. And that may be why the WHO rejected the call soon after receiving the letter in June.

"I don't have public health expertise. I signed that letter more as a person than as an academic," said Dr. Chris Gaffney, senior research fellow in the geography department in Zurich.

"I don't think Olympic Games should be held anywhere under the current business model," said Gaffrey.

Wendell Wallach also signed the letter, but his main concern was not that the Olympics should have been cancelled. He believes the WHO should have taken a closer look at the risks.

Wallach is a consultant, ethicist and scholar at Yale University. He is knowledgeable about public health, but does not consider himself an expert.

'Conversation stuck on medical science'

Lee Igel co-authored an opinion piece in Forbes magazine calling for the cancellation of the Rio Olympics. Igel, a clinical associate professor at New York University, doesn't want to focus merely in a scientific discussion on the topic because science isn't the only factor at play.

"Brazil has economic, political and social turmoil," he said. "Plus, Zika virus, plus a sports mega event.

"Conversation gets stuck on medical science, which is still evolving. I don't have expertise in zoonotics [the study of diseases which can be spread between animals and humans]. Public health, yes, but not concentrated," said Igel who signed the letter.

Alan Milstein teaches bioethics at Temple Law School. He added his signature to the letter because he thinks it's irresponsible to bring the world to ground zero for the Zika outbreak. A policy about having protected sex in Rio, and six weeks afterward, is a fantasy, he said.

"Brazil has strong expertise in entomology," counters Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine, at Baylor College, who didn't sign the letter. "Rio had its big wave of Zika last May and June [2015]. Likely the level of transmission is decreasing. The mosquito numbers are down at this time of year." 

Medical science is a significant factor to some experts who did not add their signatures to the letter.

"I don't think there's a reason to cancel the games. Even without Zika, pregnant people should not go to the Olympics," said George Dimopoulos, professor at the Blumberg School of Public Health. "August is the lowest time of mosquito transmission of viruses. Dengue causes symptoms much more dangerous than Zika. Rio was selected when dengue was an issue so Zika should not be a problem."

"There is a level of arrogance from first world countries," said Ernesto Marques, who has been studying Zika in Brazil this year and didn't sign the letter.

"They don't take the same view as scientists and academics in developing countries. It's very common. There's a lack of knowledge," said Marques.

"You should be more afraid of being robbed, stolen, hit by a bus, getting an STD [sexually transmitted disease] or being injured as an athlete. There is more concern with chikungunya (than Zika), which can impair high performance."