Zika Crisis Overshadows Final Olympic Push

(ATR) In two days the countdown to the first South American Olympiad will hit the six month mark.

Ticket sales have increased moderately with 2.6 million tickets purchased. The Olympic torch is set to be lit in less than 50 days and tests events will continue at a brisk pace through May.

But none of this mattered to a swarm of more than 100 journalists at the February 2 briefing by Rio 2016 on these final six months to go.

They were largely interested in one story only: the Zika crisis.

Every day the number of cases of microcephaly rise in Brazil, with more and more cases linked to the Zika virus. In the entirety of Brazil the number of confirmed cases of the cognitive deficiency disorder in newborns has increased by 50% in the past week from 270 to 404. Nearly 3,600 cases country-wide are still under investigation.

Coverage of the progression of the virus is dominating news reporting in Rio de Janeiro with "health" sections devoted entirely to Zika news, even if the majority of cases are from the northeast of the country.

Brazilian authorities have been criticized for their slowness to react to the virus, with media reports of doctors first encountering the virus as early as January 2015. It was not until November when Brazilian authorities said there was a link between Zika and microcephaly. South American health leaders have converged in Montevideo, Uruguay to discuss next steps to combating the virus.

In Rio the crisis coincides with the annual Carnival celebrations. The Sambodorome where the main Carnival parade is held has been sprayed with insect repellent and on Feb. 6 a "No Zika" street festival will be held in Rio.

Those who are believed to be most affected are women who are likely to get pregnant or are currently pregnant.

One colleague of mine has a wife expecting in June. He described the current situation in their home as "bug repellent city." With 80 percent of those infected with Zika asymptomatic, those who are pregnant can only leave the country or work their hardest to prevent exposure to mosquitoes and wait out the pregnancy.

Even more worrying is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention confirming a case of Zika transmitted sexually in the United States meaning mosquitoes may not be the only way for the virus to afflict victims.

Global attention to the virus could help bring a vaccine in an accelerated timeline, but probably not time for the all clear to be sounded before the real Olympics.

Rio has weathered one public relations quandary after another. Zika is the first one on an international scale with such a risk to public health.

Olympic officials remain confident that they will be able to minimize the threat of the virus, but assurances are coming in a time of economic uncertainty and on the heels of another health crisis in the state of Rio de Janeiro that closed public hospitals over lack of funding.

Calls have been made to cancel the Olympics, but no travel restrictions from the World Health Organization or other international bodies have been issued.

With the amount of money poured into the Games, organizers and the government will do all they can to make sure the investment is not wasted by canceling the Olympics.

Communications will be key from Brazil to allay fears. Equivocation and silence will only fuel doubts and distrust. Spectators, officials and the athletes who will compete all have a right to know that everything is being done their health and that of the 2016 Olympic Games.

Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro

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