RIO DE JANEIRO — (CNN) A group of Brazilian scientists have detected a drug-resistant bacteria growing off the shores of some of Rio de Janeiro’s most stunning beaches, one month before they’re due to host 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 news comes as Rio prepares to host hundreds of thousands of athletes and tourists during next month’s 2016 Summer Olympic Games.
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.
‘I don’t take my children to these beaches’
Picao believes the city’s “fragile” sanitation infrastructure is responsible for the presence of the superbacteria.
“This bacteria colonizes the intestine and it goes along with feces to the hospital sewage,” Picao said. “We believe that hospital sewage goes into municipal sewage and gets to the Guanabara Bay or to other rivers and finally gets to the beach.”
According to Rio’s water utility, Cedae, the criteria established by the World Health Organization have been followed.
“Fifty one percent of the city’s sewage is now treated,” production director Edes de Oliveira told CNN. “Seven years ago it was only 11%.”
Despite concerns, neither Picao nor international Olympic authorities recommend moving the sailing venue.
“I wouldn’t say to change the venues because we don’t know the risks yet,” Picao said. “We are making this alert because, if athletes get infected there is a chance this bacteria is multi-resistant and the physicians should know about this.”
The other beaches that tested positive for the bacteria were Leblon and Ipanema, which are very popular among tourists and locals alike.
“I don’t take my children to these beaches,” Picao said. “We still need more studies to tell what would be the risk to human health of this exposure through the water.”
Trouble ahead of Rio Olympics
The Rio 2016 Summer Olympic Games are scheduled to begin on August 5, but with a month to go safety and financial issues continue to plague the international event.
An Australian athlete was mugged close to her hotel, a local hospital designated for tourists was the scene of a fierce gun battle and fears over the Zika virus have led several elite athletes to pull out.
Rio de Janeiro mayor Eduardo Paes told CNN earlier this week the state was doing a “terrible” job in regard to security in the lead up to the Games. “It’s completely failing at its work of policing and taking care of people,” he said.
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