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posted by CoolHand on Friday July 31 2015, @04:24PM   Printer-friendly
from the caught-in-the-storm dept.

The Associated Press reports some disturbing data on the water quality in Rio De Janeiro, site of the 2016 Summer Olympics. Sewage treatment in Rio is in a sad state. There have been some half-assed efforts to build treatment plants, but they haven't kept pace with the city's rapid population growth, and most of the sewage just flows into rivers and streams untreated. The AP commissioned a study to measure bacteria and viruses in the outdoor water sport venues as well as some tourist beaches, and found dangerously high levels of pathogens in all of them.

Ivan Bulaja, the Croatian-born coach of Austria's 49er-class sailing team, has seen it firsthand. His sailors have lost valuable training days after falling ill with vomiting and diarrhea. "This is by far the worst water quality we've ever seen in our sailing careers," said Bulaja.

Training earlier this month in Guanabara Bay, Austrian sailor David Hussl said he and his teammates take precautions, washing their faces immediately with bottled water when they get splashed by waves and showering the minute they return to shore. And yet Hussl said he's fallen ill several times.

"I've had high temperatures and problems with my stomach," he said. "It's always one day completely in bed and then usually not sailing for two or three days." It is a huge risk for the athletes, the coach said.

"The Olympic medal is something that you live your life for," Bulaja said, "and it can really happen that just a few days before the competition you get ill and you're not able to perform at all."

Dr. Alberto Chebabo, who heads Rio's Infectious Diseases Society, said the raw sewage has led to "endemic" public health woes among Brazilians, primarily infectious diarrhea in children. By adolescence, he said, people in Rio have been so exposed to the viruses they build up antibodies. But foreign athletes and tourists won't have that protection.


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  • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Friday July 31 2015, @06:43PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday July 31 2015, @06:43PM (#216467) Journal

    Isn't Excreta one of the moons orbiting one of the larger planets? Let me think about that one . . . .

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  • (Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Friday July 31 2015, @08:40PM

    by wonkey_monkey (279) on Friday July 31 2015, @08:40PM (#216524) Homepage

    Also lovely name for a baby girl.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 01 2015, @03:04AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday August 01 2015, @03:04AM (#216621)

    No, it's a planet about the same size as Neptune.