Brazilian organizers and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have insisted that only bacterial testing was required, despite a five-month long independent analysis done by the Associated Press that showed dangerously high levels of viruses in the Olympic water venues, as reported in Digital Journal.
Local organizing head Carlos Arthur Nuzman told the Associated Press that he acknowledged the need for virus testing, but also said his team is still trying to figure out how to do it. It seems the organizers aren’t sure how to carry out the testing or what viruses they should be looking for.
“The viral tests, we will do and we will repeat this because the most important (thing) for us is the health of the athletes,” Nuzman said in an interview in London, according to ESPN. “We are working with our medical department and looking for this.”
The turnaround by the IOC and Brazilian organizers come in the wake of an infection contracted by German sailor, Eric Heil. Heil is recuperating from multiple infections on his legs and hip after competing in a pre-Olympic test event in Rio’s filthy waters.
The Berlin hospital where Heil is receiving daily treatments says the athlete had contracted MRSA, a type of bacteria resistant to multiple antibiotics. As reported in Digital Journal, Heil says he was infected while competing in a regatta in Marina da Gloria, where raw sewage is allowed to pour into the water.
Rio organizers now face the seemingly daunting task of finding a laboratory with the equipment and trained professionals to conduct the viral testing. There are less than five of these labs in Brazil, and only one in Rio de Janeiro, located at the federal Health Ministry’s Oswald Cruz Foundation research center.
The AP’s testing was done by Fernando Spilki, a board member of the Brazilian Society for Virology and editor of its scientific journal. Spilki is the coordinator of the environmental quality program at Feevale University in southern Brazil.
The viral testing included measuring the levels for human adenovirus types 2, 5 and 41, which are considered “markers” for human sewage pollution of water in Brazil. These viruses are the types most typically found in the wastewater of this tropical nation.
The APs viral testing also includes measuring levels of rotavirus, the biggest cause of gastroenteritis worldwide, and enterovirus, the most common cause of upper respiratory infections globally. The AP is also testing for fecal coliform bacterias.
