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World Health Organization Spurns Calls to Cancel or Move the Olympics Due to Zika

posted by cmn32480 on Monday May 30 2016, @09:08AM   Printer-friendly
from the power-of-the-dollar dept.

takyon writes:

The show must go on:

The World Health Organization is trying to ease concerns about spreading Zika as a result of this summer's Olympics in Rio de Janiero.

"Based on current assessment, cancelling or changing the location of the 2016 Olympics will not significantly alter the international spread of Zika virus," a statement released Saturday reads.

This comes a day after more than 150 scientists released an open letter to the head of WHO calling for the games to be moved or postponed, citing new research. "We make this call despite the widespread fatalism that the Rio 2016 Games are inevitable or 'too big to fail,'" the letter says.

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  • (Score: 2, Disagree) by zocalo on Monday May 30 2016, @01:25PM

    by zocalo (302) on Monday May 30 2016, @01:25PM (#352617)
    The WHO does have a point; Zika is easily avoided through a little common sense on behalf of the spectators, so the risk should indeed be minimal. "Should" being the operative word, of course, since that's there the stupid comes in. For the WHO to be correct in their assertion it relies on people who are the most at risk should they contract Zika (e.g. women who are, or considering becoming, pregnant) choosing not to go to the games in person, or taking extra steps to reduce their exposure while there. It relies on people who might contract the disease in Brazil and spread it when they return home taking steps to avoid doing so (using insect repellents, mosquito nets, condoms, etc., etc.). All common sense stuff.

    Can you see common sense prevailing, amongst hundreds of thousands of over-excited spectators and athletes, many of whom will no doubt be partying a little bit too hard on multiple occassions? Even in the majority of cases? What about enough cases to make all the difference? No, neither can I.
    --
    UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!
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  • (Score: 3, Insightful) by sjames on Monday May 30 2016, @03:16PM

    by sjames (2882) on Monday May 30 2016, @03:16PM (#352645) Journal

    The risk to the people going is fairly small, especially since many pregnant women won't really want to make such a trip. The concern is if they take it back home with them.

    • (Score: 2) by zocalo on Monday May 30 2016, @04:06PM

      by zocalo (302) on Monday May 30 2016, @04:06PM (#352664)
      And in order to *become* that risk, they need to come into contact with Zika in the first place. That's my point; the risk of exposure to Zika is vastly reduced if you are sensible about it and take all those common sense precautions, which - along with Brazil's attempts to suppress the mosquito vector (the air in Rio will probably reek of DEET) - is clearly what the WHO is assuming is going to happen to a sufficient degree that Zika will remain mostly contained. They may well be right, and it seems only time will tell since barring some other major upset it's pretty clear that the games will be going ahead as planned, but I think they are badly misjudging human nature when placed in large numbers into a party atmosphere where demonstrating physical prowess is the order of the day.
      --
      UNIX? They're not even circumcised! Savages!

      • (Score: 4, Insightful) by sjames on Monday May 30 2016, @05:58PM

        by sjames (2882) on Monday May 30 2016, @05:58PM (#352691) Journal

        For the WHO to be correct in their assertion it relies on people who are the most at risk should they contract Zika (e.g. women who are, or considering becoming, pregnant) choosing not to go to the games in person, or taking extra steps to reduce their exposure while there.

        It relies on every single person who travels there to take extra precautions regardless of their personal risk or lack thereof. Anybody can contract it and take it back home, especially if they are in the majority who are asymptomatic or have non-specific symptoms.

      • (Score: 2) by VLM on Tuesday May 31 2016, @12:23PM

        by VLM (445) on Tuesday May 31 2016, @12:23PM (#353028)

        (the air in Rio will probably reek of DEET)

        Probably if you give Brazil the money to build a sewage treatment plant, they'll build it so the athletes won't have to do the water events while swimming in a river of human shit.

        Oh wait, its Brazil. So no treatment plants. I think some of the Zika reaction is just people not wanting to compete or visit the 3rd world. I can't blame them.

        Likewise I'm sure Brazil will be given money to make the air reek of DEET and I'm equally sure the air will be full of mosquitoes and someone's bank account will be full of money.

        I'm not a huge Ayn Rand fan anymore but there was a plotline in one of her books along the lines of a dying ineffective culture can signal and LARP whatever they want, but mother nature cannot be fooled and horror shows will inevitably result. So here we are, living out a book storyline in reality.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 31 2016, @02:01AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 31 2016, @02:01AM (#352868)

    I've known some olympic athletes. According to them, once your event is over the rest of the games becomes a giant fuck-fest.

    • (Score: 2) by bob_super on Tuesday May 31 2016, @04:33PM

      by bob_super (1357) on Tuesday May 31 2016, @04:33PM (#353100)

      Couldn't blame people for unwinding, with the healthiest people on the planet, after years of hard training for the event.
      Some want to celebrate, others want to forget, and I'm pretty sure the genetic pool improves if they breed.

      I'm not sure why there isn't an official Athlete's genetic material market yet. If you can get 6 figures for a racehorse "donation", there's gotta be billions in Advanced Baby Breeding...