‘Super bacteria’ discovered in Rio’s waters as Olympics near, by Elysse Baumbach 7/9/16
Rio de
Janeiro (CNN)A group of Brazilian scientists has
detected a drug-resistant bacteria growing off some of Rio de Janeiro’s most
stunning beaches, in research being published a month before the city hosts the
2016 Olympic Games.
According to lead researcher Renata
Picao, the “super bacteria” entered the city’s waterways when sewage coming
from local hospitals got channeled into the bay.
“We have been looking for ‘super
bacteria’ in coastal waters during a one-year period in five beaches,” 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 samples were collected between
2013 and 2014. The superbug found was carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae,
or CRE.
Picao said there is no reason to
believe the levels have changed because raw sewage continues to flow into many
waterways. She said the next step is to test the impact these bacteria can have
when humans come in contact with them in coastal waters.
Sailboats sail in the polluted
Guanabara Bay, venue site of the Olympic sailing events.
The news comes as Rio prepares to
host hundreds of thousands of athletes and tourists during next month’s Summer
Olympics.
Among the beaches flagged were
Flamengo and Botafogo, which border the bay where Olympic sailors are scheduled
to compete.
“It’s a nice sailing area but every
time you get some water in your face, it feels like there’s some alien enemy
entering your face,” German Paralympic sailor Heiko Kroger said during a recent
visit to Rio. “I keep my nose and my lips closed.”
Kroger believes the super bacteria
may have caused a severe skin infection in one of his teammates during recent
training.
Comments
Rio
failed to maintain its sewer system and it leaked into the Ocean. They should have kept this basic
infrastructure maintained, but instead spent a fortune to host the Olympics.
The Olympic committee needs to put infrastructure integrity on their checklist
for future games. Governments need to
make sure that water and sanitation are not compromised. If Rio wants to continue to be a haven for
tourists, they will need to get rid of this bacteria first.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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