Health workers spray insecticide to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes that transmit the Zika virus at the Sambadrome in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Picture: AP / Leo Correa
THE Australian Olympic Committee is keeping a close eye on Brazil’s devastating Zika virus epidemic and is asking any members of the national team who may be pregnant during the Rio Games to reconsider going.
Brazil at is the epicentre of global panic about Zika virus, a mosquito-borne disease that is linked to a spike in cases of severe birth defects, including microcephaly.
About 1.5 million people in Brazil are believed to have been infected.
The scale of the outbreak has prompted the Department of Foreign Affairs to warn Australians against travelling to Brazil, as well as 21 other countries affected by the virus.
And the current epidemic has come at an especially bad time for Brazil, which will become the first South American country to host the Olympic Games in August.
In a statement to news.com.au, a spokesman for the Australian Olympic Committee said the team’s medical director David Hughes was closely monitoring the situation, with tropical diseases such as Zika virus bound to “provide medical challenges” to athletes in Rio de Janeiro.
All athletes will be issued mosquito repellent — the best known defence against Zika virus-carrying mosquitoes — and will be urged to keep their arms and legs covered where possible, especially around stagnant water and heavy vegetation.
While there is no vaccine for Zika virus, every member of the Australian Olympic team will be vaccinated against Yellow Fever, which, along with Dengue Fever and Chikungunya virus, are also prevalent in Brazil.
“The authorities say there is less risk of these diseases in Rio compared to other regions of Brazil but the types of mosquitoes that transmit these diseases are active all day, and therefore all team members need to be conscious of avoiding mosquito bites at all times,” the AOC told news.com.au.
People gather and swim along a polluted and slow-moving canal on in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil. Stagnant water is a potential breeding sites for mosquitos that carry the Zika virus. Picture: Mario Tama / Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
“All females of child-bearing age need to be aware of the specific risks of microcephaly in newborns, should the mother become infected during pregnancy.
“Following the recently updated DFAT guidelines, any team members who are pregnant at the time of the Games need to consider the risks very carefully before deciding whether to proceed with travel to Brazil.”
All athletes are being warned about Zika virus as part of a national education program, the AOC said.
Australian Team Chef de Mission Kitty Chiller is also keeping in regular contact with Dr Hughes to communicate the latest information on Zika virus to athletes and officials.
“The health and wellbeing of all our team members is paramount, especially those females in the Team of child bearing age,” Chiller said.
“We have a responsibility to ensure that we educate and inform all prospective team members of the potential risks and to put in place whatever mitigating measures we can.”
HOW WILL RIO PROTECT OUR ATHLETES?
As concerns mount over the hundreds of thousands of athletes and supporters who will descend on Rio for the Olympic Games in just six months, Brazilian health authorities have been forced to reveal how they will deal with the terrifying epidemic.
They say inspections of Olympics facilities will begin four months before the opening ceremony on August 5 with a focus on eliminating mosquito breeding grounds, such as pools of stagnant water.
Health authorities will also carry out daily sweeps of competition sites during the Olympics, however fumigation will be used in a limited capacity due to the potential health impacts on athletes and visitors.
A municipal worker during an operation to combat the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes in Recife, Pernambuco state, Brazil, on Tuesday. Picture: AP / Felipe DanaSource:AP
The Rio mayor’s office said it planned to organise a specialised team of public health agents to focus specifically on Olympic installations.
And as governments around the world add Brazil to its travel warning lists, the Brazilian health ministry said it was banking on the fact August was a cooler and drier month with fewer mosquitoes around and typically less chance of mosquito-borne viruses.
“The Games will take place in the winter here, so the temperature is a couple of degrees down from the normal summer temperature, so naturally there will be fewer mosquitoes,” said Mario Andrada, a spokesman for the Rio Olympics organising committee.
The city’s officials will have a trial run next month when the world-famous Rio Carnival brings the threat of the Zika virus spreading.
Could an outbreak happen in Australia?
The World Health Organisation has warned the Zika virus was now likely to spread to all countries in South, Central and North America except for Canada and Chile.
Associate Professor Linda Selvey from the School of Public Health at Curtin University said an outbreak was also possible in Australia, but only in areas where the vector mosquito, the Aedes aegypti mosquito, occurred.
“That mosquito only occurs in Far North Queensland, anywhere from Townsville north. And there have been outbreaks of dengue fever in Australia this time of year so it is possible there could be an outbreak in Far North Queensland,” Dr Selvey told news.com.au.
“But it wouldn’t extend further because the mosquito vector doesn’t occur there in sufficient numbers.”
Virologists say Zika virus has been discovered in Australian travellers returning home from South America, but Dr Selvey said the risks to others were fairly limited.
“The Zika virus is unusual because it appears there have been some recorded sexual transmission but that seems to be unusual — they’re certainly not common events,” she said.
Two-month-old Ludmilla Hadassa Dias de Vasconcelos has microcephaly, which is believed have been due to her mother contracting Zika virus. Picture: Mario Tama/Getty ImagesSource:Getty Images
“That wouldn’t be sufficient to cause an outbreak, even if it did occur. It might mean that someone who had Zika virus in their blood should practice safe sex or avoid sex for that time period.”
Dr Selvey said Zika was a self-limiting infection that was defeated by the body’s immune system.
Most people who contract the virus won’t suffer symptoms, and those who will can expect symptoms similar to dengue fever, such as a mild fever, a rash, red eyes, conjunctivitis, headaches and muscles aches.
Until recently most health experts considered the Zika virus as relatively harmless, but it is now suspected of being a real danger to unborn children whose mothers have been infected.
It is blamed for a spike in birth defects, especially microcephaly, a foetal deformation in which babies are born with smaller-than-usual brains.
The country has a reported 3893 suspected cases of microcephaly, the World Health Organisation said last week.
The current outbreak of the disease is being treated as an emergency in Brazil.
But she said anyone planning on travelling to Zika-affected areas, including Brazil, should take precautions.
“I think the only people who might want to reconsider travelling are pregnant women, but there’s not enough known about microcephaly to know what the level of risk is if you’re pregnant — although you probably don’t want to put your foetus at any risk,” she said.
“Otherwise, in the majority of cases, it’s a self-limiting infection and people can take precautions to avoid being bitten by mosquitoes.
“The mosquitoes that transmit Zika virus are daytime-biting mosquitoes, and people can prevent that by wearing loose clothing, long pants and long sleeves, and using mosquito repellent.
“If they’re staying in a hotel room that’s not screened, or if they see mosquitoes, spray a long-acting insect repellent on the bed and covers an things where mosquitoes tend to hide out.”
While the virus is considered potentially dangerous to unborn children, Dr Selvey said there was no known risk to future pregnancies.
Zika virus is a mosquito-borne disease that was first detected in monkeys in Uganda in the late 1940s and over the following decades gained footholds in parts of Asia and Central and South America.
There is no vaccine and no cure, however the Brazilian government has announced it will direct funds to a biomedical research centre to help develop a vaccine.
As many as 1.5 million Brazilians may have been infected with the mosquito-borne Zika virus and now the U.S. and other countries are also reporting news cases. But what is the Zika virus? And why does it pose a threat to pregnant women? Dipti Kapadia explains. Photo: Getty Images
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