May 31, 2016
The World Health Organization has rejected a letter from 150 scientists asking that it consider postponing the Olympic Games in Brazil due to the Zika virus threat.
Two Temple University bioethics professors who signed the letter told PhillyVoice that they don't see why the WHO won't at least study the issue.
"What the letter was really asking for is for there to be an independent group to evaluate the necessity of whether or not the games needed to be postponed or moved. It's really hard for us to see what the downside to that is," said Dr. Kathleen Reeves, director of Temple's Center for Bioethics, Urban Health and Policy.
"Absent the Olympics, I don't think people would be as quick to argue that it's not a public health issue," added the center's Associate Director, Dr. Nora Jones.
The WHO replied the next day that there is "no public health justification for postponing or canceling the games."
"Brazil is 1 of almost 60 countries and territories which to date report continuing transmission of Zika by mosquitoes," the organization said in a statement. "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."
Dr. Steven Joffe, vice-chair of the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, wants to know how the WHO came to that conclusion.
"It's not too clear to me how they got to that determination that it's not necessary or not a public health benefit to postpone the games or to consider moving the games," he said. "It was a very quick response."
The global group of scientists published the letter on Friday, arguing that the games in Rio de Janeiro could exacerbate the spread of Zika.
Among the signers are 12 medical or bioethics experts from Philadelphia institutions, including nine from the University of Pennsylvania, two from Temple University and one from Thomas Jefferson University.
"This onslaught of 500,000 people for a few weeks, and then they go all back right away — its' a unique opportunity that might provide an increased spread of the virus," said Reeves. "All we're asking for is an independent evaluation to see if that's true."
She also pointed out that Brazil, which is reeling from a fiscal and political crisis and just impeached its president, may not be in the best position right now to focus on controlling the mosquito population.
"Rio may not be well prepared, because of [its] social struggle and [its] current economics, to make the kind of impact in the mosquito population that would need to be made," said Reeves.
According to the letter, Rio has the second-highest number of probable Zika cases in the country, around 32,000.
However, the WHO said Zika has already spread to almost 60 countries and territories where people travel on a daily basis, making it pointless to focus on one specific event.
"We live in an incredibly interconnected world, global travel and trade are daily activities that offer Zika virus an opportunity to spread," virology professor Jonathan Ball told Reuters. "By comparison to these routine activities, the increased risk that the Olympics poses is a drop in the ocean."
The WHO said that travelers should instead be vigilant about avoiding mosquito bites and practice safe sex. It also said that pregnant women should not travel to Zika-infected areas. Reeves called the WHO's message "confusing."
"It's very hard for the public to read that it's not a public health concern, but no pregnant woman should go," she said.
