Going to the Olympics? Some health risks to consider
ASSOCIATED PRESS
This June 28, 1999, file photo shows a smashed Ford sits upended on Avenida Atlantica along the Copacabana beach Monday, June 28, 1999 in Rio de Janeiro. Zika is in the spotlight but health experts say the most likely cause of death or serious harm to travelers everywhere is injuries from car accident, falls, crime or other mishaps.
NEW YORK >> Traveling to the Olympics? Don’t let illnesses meddle with your fun.
Roughly half a million people from around the world are expected to travel to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. And while Zika is in the spotlight, there are other bugs and health problems that Olympic athletes and spectators should keep in mind.
What’s the biggest threat? Health experts say the most likely cause of death or serious harm to travelers everywhere is injuries from car accident, falls, crime or other mishaps.
But that’s not what’s on the minds of people headed to the Olympics, said Dr. Nicholas Van Sickels, associate director of Tulane University’s travel medicine clinic in New Orleans.
“Zika is what brings them in the door,” Van Sickels said of recent clinic visitors.
A look at those health problems, and what athletes and travelers can do about them.
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HOW BIG A THREAT IS ZIKA?
The risk of getting sick from Zika is low, especially compared to other illnesses that a visitor to Rio might suffer. It’s winter in Brazil; a time when mosquitoes that spread the virus are at a low ebb. But for mothers-to-be, the stakes are very high because an infection during pregnancy can cause serious birth defects. That’s why pregnant women have been told to stay away.
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BUT HOW CAN I AVOID ZIKA?
The virus is mainly spread by tropical mosquitoes, though it also can be transmitted through sex. Travelers can protect themselves from mosquito bites by, among other things, wearing long sleeves and long pants and using insect repellents. Also, stay in places with air conditioning or that use window and door screens, the CDC suggests.
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WILL I KNOW IF I’M INFECTED?
You might not. Most infected people do not get sick, and those that do usually experience only mild symptoms, like fever, rash, red eyes, joint pain, that ends within a week. But some infected adults have developed a paralyzing condition called Guillain-Barre syndrome.
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WHAT ABOUT OTHER TROPICAL ILLNESSES?
The same mosquito spreads other tropical illnesses, including chikungunya, which has been spreading in Brazil and other parts of South America in the last few years. It has some of the same symptoms as Zika, but the joint pain is often debilitating and can give people a stooped appearance — the name chikungunya comes from a word meaning “to become contorted.” Like Zika, there is no vaccine or cure for it. There are vaccines or medicines for other mosquito-borne diseases seen in Brazil, including yellow fever, dengue fever and malaria. Those aren’t considered much of a threat for Olympic visitors, though.
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WHAT ELSE COULD MAKE ME SICK?
If a traveler to the Olympics gets sick, it’s most likely from drinking water or eating undercooked or unclean food, said Dr. Martin Cetron of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Food should be peeled, boiled or cooked. Avoid food from street vendors, and fruits and vegetables that have not been thoroughly washed, experts suggest. Drink bottled water or beverages. And maybe pack some medicine for diarrhea, Cetron said. Some swimming areas in Rio are contaminated with sewage, and the CDC advises avoiding swallowing mouthfuls of water and staying away from beaches with warning signs.
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ANYTHING ELSE?
It’s flu season in the Southern Hemisphere, so expect that people in Rio may be sneezing or coughing and spreading flu germs. Flu and other respiratory illnesses are probably the second most common thing travelers to the Olympics will get, Cetron said. Wash your hands and drink lots of uncontaminated fluids, experts say.
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WHAT IF I GET SICK IN BRAZIL?
Eu me sinto doente. That’s Portuguese for “I feel sick.” Talk to a doctor or nurse if you feel very ill, especially if you have a fever, the CDC advised. The CDC website has information about finding medical care while abroad and also offers some health terms in Portuguese. Officials do not expect a lot of Olympic travelers to take Zika home with them. Researchers at Yale University recently estimated that there may be no more than 40 travelers going home from the Olympics with infections.
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Online:
CDC: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/alert/2016-summer-olympics-rio
2 responses to “Going to the Olympics? Some health risks to consider”
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I thought that was Waikiki in the picture.
Just don’t go there. Tickets are all sold out because a large percentage of them were given to special Brazilians and Olympic Committee family members and friends. Crime really is rampant. While there I saw all the restaurant workers crowding around a TV watching a video camera of a building entrance. There was a burn mark on the concrete floor indicating a bomb blast. Maybe a hand grenade. Waited and waited but nothing else happened. Nobody speaks English. Funny kine kid’s TV show where the hostess looks like a whorish I LOVE JEANNIE dancing around the floor hugging kids. Weird sex education class. I met a tall white guy from Denmark who was surrounded by pretty young putas. He likes to give money generously to them when they ask. He was telling me how his quiet friend next to him was robbed. He picked up 2 putts and took them to his apartromento where they drugged him with date rape rhohypnol. When he woke up all his furniture and possessions were gone. Didn’t want to ask him if the clothes he was wearing was gone, too. Lots of AIDS and travesties all over the place. Ugly SOB’s just like America’s. Another told me of a friend who was rudely accosted by a darkie who shoved a revolver up into the space between his jaw and neck. Stole his watch. Never came back. I was robbed of my camera. Told to pay my own taxi to the police station which was closed. Banged the door loudly over and over before a sleepy-eyed Pordagee opened the door. After I told him the facts of my robbery he asks, “When are you leaving?” Fark you Brazil! My other experience is I am walking down Avenida de Atlantica and out of the shadows of some trees come 6 darkies toward me. They surround me and grab me like some cannibals. I yelled out, and they backed off and retreated to the same shadows. I sought another Pordagee cop. No can speeka English. So pantomimed pulling out two guns from a holster and point it at him like ROBBERY! He puts me into his little gas economy unmarked mini car and goes back to the same spot! He doesn’t even have a gun! The perp are gone thankfully. I go back to my apartomento to sleep. The next night I take a walk down the same beach walk street. In the dark I looked back and saw a black little car following me on the sidewalk. He has a cop’s uniform. Suddenly he accelerates to the side of me and into the same dark shadows along with another cop’s car from the front of me. Super stealthy. They catch the 6 Popo’s and make them stand with their legs wide apart. Then the cops start kicking them hard on the insides of their legs, and I know that hurts. They get yelled at, punched, kicked some more and cannot fight back. Years later I finally figured out why those pitiful souls grabbed me. They were hungry and were begging for money to eat. Felt so sorry for that beating they endured. Confusing country to be in. If you go just visit the Sugar Loaf Mountain and ride the tram. The Cristor Redentor Statue is even higher and you ride a train up a steep track. Then you go home. Food is junk and has no flavor. Bring your own salt, pepper, seasoning, spices. Their oranges are yellow inside and out. No taste. Brazil is fake hype. Mo beddah come Hawaii.