Super Bacteria Found in Rio Olympic Waters

Editorial Coverage Sponsored By FINIS

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazilian researchers have found a “drug-resistant” super bacteria in the waters that are meant to be used for sailing and windsurfing events at the 2016 Rio Olympics, according to the BBC.

According to the report, this particular strain of bacteria is “usually found in hospital waste” and is able to resist antibiotic treatment. Researchers found what is being labeled as a super bug in samples taken from Flamengo beach and along the Carioca river.

The report also states that nearly 70 percent of Rio’s sewage is dumped untreated into the waters of the Guanabara Bay.

“The problem is that in case of infection it is possible that treatment involves hospitalisation,” said Ana Paula D’Alincourt Carvalho Assef, the study coordinator at Rio’s renowned Oswaldo Cruz Institute. “Since the super-bacteria are resistant to the most modern medications, doctors need to rely on drugs that are rarely used because they are toxic to the organism.”

During the bidding process, Rio promised that it would cut pollution in Guanabara Bay by 80 percent. It has not come close to meeting this covenant.

“I am sorry that we did not use the games to get Guanabara Bay completely clean,” Rio mayor Eduardo Paes said.

Rio organizers still continue to insist that the pollution “will not pose a major health risk during the Olympics.”

This latest discovery comes on the heels of continued research by Greenpeace that has found rampant pollution in the waters around Rio for quite some time.

Open water swimmers could potentially be in the clear as the location for that event is the Copacabana beach. The waters in this location have not been the focus of as much scrutiny as Guanabara Bay, but could be less polluted according to the Daily News of Open Water Swimming.

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