CDC Director: Zika Isn’t Reason Enough To Change Olympic Site
The 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, doesn’t need to be postponed or moved because of the Zika virus, according to Dr. Tom Frieden, the director of the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Frieden said there’s no public health reason to change the Olympic venue because of the disease that in some cases harms the newborns of infected mothers.
Still, Frieden and the CDC recommend pregnant women don’t go to the Olympics.
“And there are some pregnant women who participated in the last Olympics, and may decide to go, but that’s the only group for which we would have specific advice and recommend you not go,” Frieden said.
There are reports of multiple athletes who plan to skip the Olympics because of Zika concerns.
Frieden said any concerns that the Games will speed up the spread of Zika globally are overblown, and the gathering will have a minuscule effect.
The CDC director said he’s headed to Puerto Rico on Friday, where he said the Zika threat right now is particularly severe.
Federal Funding
Frieden is calling on Congress to approve new funding to combat the Zika virus, research its effect on pregnant women and to fight the mosquitoes that carry the virus.
“We need to do much better on mosquito control: start programs, try them, develop new mosquito control technologies. We can’t do that without support from Congress,” Frieden said.
The U.S. Senate approved more than $1 billion in funding, while the House approved just over $600 million.
The two chambers still have to agree on a final amount.
President Barack Obama has requested $2 billion for Zika funding.
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