Rio de Janeiro, Brazil — The 2016 Olympics are beginning in Rio where an outbreak of the Zika virus is taking hold in Olympic Village. The Zika virus, first identified in Uganda in 1947, is transmitted by the same type of mosquito that carries dengue fever, yellow fever, and chikungunya virus. A mosquito bites an infected person and then passes those viruses to other people it bites. Symptoms are much like a severe flu and binge watching Game of Thrones.
Swimmer Anton Massotti, an Italian freestyle swimmer spoke to The Fazzler about the situation in Olympic Village.
“How can they expect us to swim in water when we all have diarrhea?” said Anton. “The toilets here are already overflowing. And I don’t want to tell you what the pools look like. Use your imagination.”
The virus has taken a toll. Nearly 2,000 of the 10,000 athletes are showing symptoms of the Zika Virus. The Olympic committee has been trying to keep it under wraps, but with so many athletes sick it was impossible.
Doctors and specialists in disease prevention are doing all that they can to stem the spread. Spraying is taking place all around the Olympic venues to rid the area of the virus carrying mosquitoes as well as providing Costco-sized bundles of toilet paper.
