The presence of drug-resistant bacteria on the beaches beside a bay that will host Olympic sailing events next month is no surprise but may have little impact on the athletes and visitors descending on Rio de Janeiro, says a Canadian bacteria expert.
The health issues in Rio鈥檚 Guanabara Bay were well known by Olympic health officials during the London Games in 2012, says Jason Tetro, a Toronto-based microbiologist. But he says officials were too late in putting the necessary sanitation infrastructure in place for such a large city.
The Brazilian metropolis of about 6 million people only treats about half of its sewage before dumping it into local waterways. A group of Brazilian scientists who have been studying super bacteria in the coastal waters is blaming hospital waste, infected with so-called superbugs, for the drug-resistant microbes found on Rio鈥檚 beaches.
While it can make for an unpleasant environment, Tetro doesn鈥檛 expect it to have a large impact on the Games.
鈥淚 was (in Rio) in August of last year and I can tell you there were numerous places where the smell of sewers was almost intolerable, and we鈥檙e talking even Copacabana Beach,鈥� he told CTV News Channel Tuesday.
鈥淚t is a bit distressing but it may not totally impact the Games.鈥�
Tetro, author of 鈥淭he Germ Files鈥� and 鈥淭he Germ Code,鈥� says health officials will be on the lookout for symptoms of infection among the population. Competitors face some risk but visitors will not.
Tetro expects no more than a handful of competitors to fall ill but says any level of infection will be hard to eradicate.
鈥淥nce these bacteria get into our bodies, whether we have the strongest Olympic immune system or we have a very weak, immuno-compromised one, if you get enough of them inside of you there is going to be trouble. If they happen to be antimicrobial resistant, it鈥檚 going to be very difficult to get rid of them.鈥�
Renata Picao, a professor at Rio Federal University who is among the scientists studying Rio's water quality, says it's not clear what the level of risk is for athletes. She told CTV News Channel that the pathogens can lead to pneumonia and infections in the blood stream and urinary tract. She said any athletes with compromised immune systems should be cautious.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have a risk assessment. If we knew the actual risk involved, then these waters wouldn鈥檛 be classified as suitable for bathing. But as we do not have this kind of result yet, we cannot say the waters are unsuitable.鈥�
Picao advised athletes to avoid ingesting the water and to advise a physician they may have been exposed to drug-resistant bacteria.
The bacteria problem is one among a host of issues dogging the Rio Olympics. A number of elite athletes have pulled out of the Games over fears about the Zika virus, concerns are rising about a swell in local crime, a crucial subway line will open just days before the Aug. 5 opening ceremonies and the state of Rio is in the midst of an economic crisis that has meant many public workers, including police and firefighters, have not been paid.
