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A new research shows that the risk of acquiring the Zika virus at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro is lower than 0.25 percent, as officials hope this announcement will deter recent calls to cancel the games for safety reasons.
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A team of U.S. epidemiologists calculated that Olympics visitors would account for 0.25 percent of the total risk of spreading Zika through air travel. This was based on 2015 data showing about 240 million people moved to and from areas that now have active transmission.
"Even if the games were totally shut off and stopped, and the whole thing were canceled, 99 percent of that risk is still ongoing," said Martin Cetron, director of global migration and quarantine for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The current debate started as the World Health Organization (WHO) declared Zika a global health emergency and called for a meeting of experts to evaluate the transmission risk and possible air travel spread to other continents.
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The WHO warned pregnant women against traveling to Zika outbreak areas, and advised men exposed to or infected with the virus to practice safe sex, or abstain altogether, months after their return.It said it was up to the International Olympic Committee to make any decision about changing the Games.
Previous research in Brazil had predicted the exposure would result in no more than 15 Zika infections among the foreign visitors expected to attend the event.
WHO: Zika Could Cause Severe Public Health Crisis
This mosquito virus can cause birth defects and has been linked to the neurological disorder Guillain-Barre. Brazil has identified more than 1,400 cases of microcephaly, a condition defined by small head size and underdeveloped brains, that is linked to Zika.
More than 500,000 athletes and fans are expected to travel to Rio for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, beginning August 5.
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