Zika threat during Rio 2016 Olympics unlikely, Brazilian expert says at US event
Brazil is taking steps to prevent further spread of Zika virus during the Rio 2016 Olympics, said Paulo Buss, FIOCRUZ International Coordinator for Health, speaking Wednesday (March 2) at an international meeting on the subject held by the Pan American Health Organization in Washington. Housed under Brazil's Ministry of Health, FIOCRUZ is the most prominent institute of health science and technology in Latin America.
“We're assuming people and athletes will not be affected [by Zika]. We're very unlikely to see mosquito infection, not least because the health inspection authority in Rio de Janeiro has been working hard since January to prevent the mosquito population from reaching a significant proportion [by the time the Games begin] in August,” Buss told reporters from various countries.
He pointed out that, adding to Brazil's efforts to eliminate Aedes aegypti mosquitoes (the vector for Zika) with actions taking place on federal, state, and local levels and support from Brazil's armed forces, the cooler temperatures in August are an unfavorable condition for the proliferation of the insect, which also transmits dengue and chikungunya fever.
During the meeting, speakers discussed ways to advance scientific knowledge about Zika, and how countries should brace themselves for potential outbreaks in countries not currently affected by the problem.
In addition to representatives from Brazil's FIOCRUZ and Evandro Chagas Institute, the meeting was attended by scientists from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), the UK's London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, experts from Pasteur Institutes at Paris, Dakar and Cayenne, and Cuba's Pedro Kourí Tropical Medicine Institute.
Also attending the meeting were researchers and experts from renowned public health research institutes and agencies in Colombia, Canada, Mexico, France, and French Polynesia.
Translated by Mayra Borges
Fonte: Zika threat during Rio 2016 Olympics unlikely, Brazilian expert says at US meeting
