WHO confirms no Zika from Rio Olympics

The great fear shifts to great relief as the Zika virus was avoided in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

There were plenty of concerns headed into the 2016 Rio Olympics about things well outside the scope of actual sports. From water pollution to “crime prevention” to full on disease, a whole lot could have gone wrong in Rio.

Fortunately, it seems like we avoided the worst:

The fear of the Zika virus was serious enough to cause several athletes to decline participation in these Olympics.

Notable absences such as NBA player Stephen Curry were discussed at length, and Brazil had been taken to task by many people for failing to clean up the waterways in time for the games. It seems now, however, that all can breathe a sigh of relief — at least in relation to these Olympics. The fight against Zika itself will rage on.

It’s worth nothing, however, that the WHO statement was related specifically to the Zika virus. This report does not mention whether or not there was any other form of illness at the Games related to water or air pollution—it simply states there was not any Zika. This makes sense, given the focus on Zika at the games, but only time will tell if the rest of the pollution was just as harmless.

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Given the number of athletes who competed successfully in test events and the lack of any reports of major illnesses in the days since Rio has ended, it seems safe to call the healthcare measures taken a reasonably successful.