After four years of anticipation for the next Olympic games, it is finally here. From now until August 21, we get to watch in awe as the best athletes in the world compete.
However, the new Zika virus has spread to Brazil where the Olympics are being held, and numerous people were not sure if they would have to cancel the games for the safety of the players. Also, several athletes were nervous about competing and were planning to sit out of the games, due to the lack of knowledge about the virus.
The Zika virus is spread by an infected mosquito that can cause a pregnant woman’s child to have birth defects. Two of these birth defects are microcephaly and Guillain – Barré syndrome. Microcephaly affects the baby’s head in which it is much smaller than it should be and also causes the brain to be underdeveloped. Gullian – Barré syndrome is more uncommon, but when the immune system attacks its own nerve cells. Experts were worried that the virus would affect females in their future pregnancies, but it is said that once the virus clears from the blood, there would not be a risk. Because the virus is still so new, there are not any treatments, though, there are known symptoms, such as, fever, rash, joint pain, red eyes, muscle pain, and headache.
Although it is a serious concern, Brazil’s health minister seemed to think that this would not be a threat and said that there would be a very low chance that the athletes or the spectators would contract this virus.
On the other hand, doctors and other health professionals decided that the games should be moved to a different week, sometime this year. However, rescheduling would cause havoc with the thousands of spectators and the extensive planning that is put into everything.
The ultimate decision, that the Olympic games would not change dates or locations, was made in part by the fact that the Zika virus would continue to spread regardless.
Zika has now reached the United States, where there have been approximately 104 cases, thus far, of this virus that has been found in Miami, Florida alone (excluding the other counties within Florida).
For those traveling to Brazil for the games, other parts of the world, or the United States, it has been advised to take precautionary measures to ensure that the Zika virus will not infect more individuals. One can prevent these bug bites by the use of certain insect repellants, wearing long clothing, or staying inside as much as possible, to decrease the risk of infection.
Even through the Zika virus scare, the Olympic games are continuing as normal.
