The World Cup and Diseases

[DrLeftover]

10 May 2014
...
Many of the English contingent may be expecting sunburn or heatstroke to be their biggest health concerns.

But Simon Hay, professor of Epidemiology at Oxford University, says World Cup fans may be at risk from a far more serious problem.

Dengue fever is endemic in parts of Brazil, particularly in the northeast. There were 1.4 million cases nationwide last year.

Scientists working with Prof Hay have identified nine of Brazil’s stadiums as being in dengue-plagued areas.

"Dengue fever could be a significant problem in some of the tournament locations, and preventive measures are needed," Prof Hay writes in the journal Nature.

"Fifa, the Brazilian authorities and the World Cup sponsors must use their influence and experience to communicate the risk."

The season for dengue fever usually ends in May, a month before the World Cup is due to begin.

But the northeast of Brazil is experiencing a heatwave, and public health officials warn that the mosquito breeding season may extend through the World Cup.

The north-eastern cities of Natal, Fortaleza, Recife and Salvador will host 21 games between them, including Germany vs Portugal, Spain vs the Netherlands and potentially, several England games.

England’s first game against Italy will be held in the humid setting of Manaus, in the Amazon rainforest.

...
It can cause seizures and excruciating joint pain, explaining why dengue is also known as “break bone fever”.

The virus has five separate subtypes, with subsequent infection by another type more likely to lead to severe symptoms, such as the life-threatening dengue haemorrhagic fever.

There is no cure or vaccine,

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/southamerica/brazil/10821850/World-Cup-fans-at-risk-of-dengue-fever-in-Brazil.html

 

[Nebulous's iconNebulous]

RE: The World Cup and Dengue fever

Stay healthy out there participants!

 

[DrLeftover]

Lovely:

23 June

GENEVA (Reuters) - The polio virus has been found in sewage samples near Sao Paulo, Brazil, one of the venues for the current World Cup soccer tournament, but no human case of the disease has been reported so far, the World Health Organization said on Monday.

The virus discovered in Sao Paulo sewage collected in March at Viracopos International Airport, and reported by Brazilian health authorities last week, is a close match with a recent strain isolated in a case in Equatorial Guinea, the WHO said.

"Virus has been detected in the sewage only ... To date no case of paralytic polio has been reported," it said in a statement.

http://news.yahoo.com/polio-virus-found-sao-paulo-sewage-no-human-165309661--sow.html;_ylt=AwrBEiHBb6hTODMAc1bQtDMD