"Simply put, Zika infection is more dangerous, and Brazil’s outbreak more extensive, than scientists reckoned a short time ago."

Striking words from Dr. Amir Attaran from the University of Ottawa. They capture his urgent view of the Zika situation in his Harvard Public Health Review essay. But why would the International Olympics Committee allow the August 5-21 games continue if this is a formidable threat? According to the New York Times, the World Health Organization has declared an international emergency over the virus.

To start with, what exactly is Zika? The Center for Disease Control and Prevention states that zika is a virus transmitted primarily by Aedes mosquitoes. According to the scientific community, it is a cause of microcephaly and Guillain-Barre syndrome. The disease has multiple symptoms typically lasting from two to seven days, including “mild fever, skin rash, conjunctivitis (pink eye), muscle, and joint pain, malaise, or headache. Zika is believed to have a link with certain neurological disorders, within a rigorous research framework.

So far, while these side effects aren’t pleasant, they’ve resulted in very few deaths. This is the rationale that WHO has used to tell the IHO to proceed with the games. Regardless, the Olympians and the predicted 500,000 visitors will be in town, potentially raising the number of people infected. This may lead to interference with the operations and performances from athletes during the Games and potentially take away limited resources from those in the rural vicinity needed medical attention. While not long-term, there is a high certainty that these individuals coming in are at risk of contracting Zika.

But the crux of the problem isn’t even how it will affect visitors, Olympians, or Brazilians. It’s with what Zika can do that occurs in infants. Pregnant women with the virus can have malformed children with microcephaly (shrunken heads) and neurological disorders. With the Olympic committee predicting about 500,000 people around the globe visiting Rio during the Games, it’s highly unlikely that WHO’s warning of safe and protected sex will be followed by everyone. This can lead to a whole future generation affected because of a committee who was unbothered to respond to the situation.

So you can keep the Games in Brazil IHO. Just make sure that you follow through with every incident and do everything in your power to make the risk heard and the precautions followed.