TOO BIG TO FAIL Medical experts say Olympics should be moved or delayed by ZIka

Posted on 06/02/2016 | About Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Unsurprisingly, the International Olympic Committee says it has no plans to postpone the summer Olympic Games in Rio, despite a call by a group of prominent medical professionals to take action over the mosquito-borne Zika virus. More than 100 doctors, researchers and health experts from around globe signed an open letter last week urging the United Nation's World Health Organization to either move the summer games from Rio de Janeiro or to delay them, saying they are concerned about the virus' potential impact on global health.

The scientists warn that the Zika virus is so dangerous, and the results so catastrophic, that it would be unethical to allow the Rio Olympics to proceed as planned this August. "The Brazilian strain of Zika virus harms health in ways that science has not observed before," they wrote. "An unnecessary risk is posed when 500,000 foreign tourists from all countries attend the Games, potentially acquire that strain, and return home to places where it can become endemic. Should that happen to poor, as-yet unaffected places (e.g., most of South Asia and Africa) the suffering can be great. It is unethical to run the risk, just for Games that could proceed anyway, if postponed and/or moved."

"We make this call despite the widespread fatalism that the Rio 2016 Games are inevitable or 'too big to fail,'" the letter said. The WHO released a statement in response saying any drastic action would not likely cut off the spread of the disease. "Cancelling or changing the location of the 2016 Olympics will not significantly alter the international spread of Zika virus. People continue to travel between these countries and territories for a variety of reasons. The best way to reduce risk of disease is to follow public health travel advice," the WHO said.

Brazil has been at the center of efforts to halt the spread of Zika which causes microcephaly, a rare birth defect. US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention sees no reason to postpone the Games. "There is no public health reason to cancel or delay the Olympics," said director Dr. Tom Frieden.

However, Professor Amir Attaran, who signed Friday's letter, published a report earlier this month in the Harvard Public Review arguing that the people returning from the games could escalate the Zika health crisis in Brazil to a "full-blown global health disaster." The Olympics begin in early August and are expected to attract more than 500,000 spectators from around the world