Team Jamaica’s CMO not worried about virus risks in Paris
DESPITE the possible risk of disease and viruses associated with the Paris Olympics, Team Jamaica’s Chief Medical Officer Dr Leroy Harrison says he’s not overly concerned about the threats they might present to the athletes and management team.
The Summer Games get underway on Friday in the French capital, with Jamaica competing in several sporting disciplines including track and field, swimming, diving and judo.
However, leading up to the Olympics there were several concerns about the health of those participating and attending, particularly in relation to the mosquito-spread dengue virus, with experts believing the Games could be a ‘super speader event’ given the over 10 million cases recorded worldwide, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
According to France’s public health service, there have been close to a record 3000 imported cases of dengue, with 826 confirmed cases since May. This led to Greater Paris Regional Health Agency (ARS) launching a “surveillance campaign” involving 526 mosquito nesting traps which are strategically placed in locations such as the Stade de France (athletics venue), the Olympic Village, various “fan zones”, and three of the city’s airports.
However, Dr.Harrison told the Jamaica Observer that he’s fairly relaxed about the situation.
“Things like dengue are more issues with Third World countries — so [you are at risk of infection] when you travel to places like South America, Central America and so on — but First World countries, those things are really low,” said Dr Harrison.
He believes there’s a greater threat of dengue for Jamaica, and is confident the French authorities will have things under control.
“Things like dengue are related to mosquitoes, that’s an issue we have to be concerned about [in Jamaica] in the hurricane season because of the excessive rain and water that is around. But these villages that they’ve been prepared for the Olympics, they make sure that when they’re near mosquito-bourne areas they fumigate the areas and all the necessary steps are taken in terms of international conditions that you would apply to ensure safe health practices and World Health Organization (WHO) criteria, so I’m not overly concerned about that.”
WHO, which published a guide to the Olympics, also recommended that persons get up to date on their vaccinations for diseases such as measles, COVID-19, and whooping cough — which are also on the rise in Europe.
But Dr Harrison doesn’t believe it’s a necessity for the Jamaican team.
“Some of the diseases are mainly for certain areas when you go to Africa, you go into South America, and you have to prepare yourself by taking the necessary vaccines but, for the most part, in Europe those are not big issues,” he said.
After its initial postponement in 2020, the Tokyo Olympics went ahead in 2021 despite the Covid-19 pandemic affecting preparation and travel for hundreds of countries, while the Rio Olympics went ahead as scheduled in 2016 despite the threat of the Zika virus.