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Scientists have found dangerous drug-resistant "super bacteria" off the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, which will host Olympic swimming events, and in a lagoon where rowing and canoe athletes will compete when the games begin on Aug. 5.
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The new study, released by researchers at the Rio Federal University, tested the city's beaches for a year and found traces of the super bacteria in several beaches near the Guanabara Bay where the Olympic sailing events will take place.
Waste from countless hospitals, in addition to hundreds of thousands of households, pours into storm drains, rivers and streams crisscrossing Rio, allowing the super bacteria to spread outside the city's hospitals, researchers told CNN on Tuesday.
"We have been looking for 'super bacteria' in coastal waters during a one-year period in five beaches," lead scientist Renato Picao told CNN during a visit to her lab. "We found that the threats occur in coastal waters in a variety of concentrations and that they are strongly associated with pollution."
The super bacteria can cause hard-to-treat urinary, gastrointestinal, pulmonary and bloodstream infections, along with meningitis. The CDC says studies show that these bacteria contribute to death in up to half of patients infected.
A study published in late 2014 had shown the presence of the super bacteria—classified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as an urgent public health threat—off one of the beaches in Guanabara Bay, where sailing and windsurfing events will be held during the Games.
According to Rio’s water utility company, Cedae, the city has followed the criteria established by the World Health Organization.
Meanwhile, neither Picao nor the international Olympic authorities have recommended moving the sailing venue.
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