Although I enjoyed watching the Olympic games tremendously this year, I couldn't help wondering why the games hadn't been canceled.
In 2016 so far, there have been 160,000 cases of Zika in Brazil. Although it's currently winter there and the number of cases of Zika has dropped significantly, there's still a risk because the days in Rio de Janeiro warm up to 75 to 90 degrees.
In addition, athletes, visitors, and residents didn't seem to be following instructions from health officials on preventing Zika.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the following: As much as possible, wear long-sleeved shirts, long pants, socks, and a hat. Tuck your shirt into your pants, and tuck your pants into your socks for maximum protection.
I only saw one athletic team, two women playing beach volleyball, wearing long sleeve shirts and long pants. Over and over, spectators were shown in the audience mostly wearing short sleeve shirts.
Commentators and local residents shown at evening parties also weren't wearing long sleeves and pants.
For two other recommendations by the CDC, I couldn't tell if they were being followed: wear insect repellent and use condoms when having sex.
A huge reason for concern is the appearance of the Zika virus in two locations in the Miami area. Rather than being caused by the Aedes species mosquito that's infecting people in Central and South America, local mosquitoes are spreading Zika there. How's that happening? Are people with Zika being bitten by local mosquitoes, causing these mosquitoes to become carriers? Health officials don't know. Yet, the Olympics weren't canceled.
So much is unknown about Zika. Although the worst result of Zika being reported so far is birth defects in newborn babies, on Friday, during the Olympics, a team of researchers reported on animal studies that showed Zika could affect the brain cells of adults.
In the United States, about 10,000 cases of Zika have been identified.
We'll just have to wait and see what happens next.
