In
an open letter to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 100 leading
scientists had said new findings about Zika made it "unethical" for
Rio Olympic Games to go ahead.
While Zika's symptoms are mild, in the letter the experts say it causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and may also cause a rare and sometimes fatal neurological syndrome in adults.
The letter is signed by 150 international scientists, doctors and medical
ethicists from such institutions as Oxford University and Harvard and Yale
universities in the United States.
They cite the failure of a mosquito-eradication programme in Brazil, and the
country's "weakened" health system as reasons to postpone or move the
Olympics in "the name of public health".
They also said the global health body should revisit its Zika guidance. The
International Olympic Committee (IOC) has said it sees no reason to delay or
move the Games because of the mosquito-borne disease.
The outbreak began in Brazil a year ago, but now more than 60 countries and
territories have continuing transmission.
Between February and April 2016, Brazil's health ministry registered 91,387
likely cases of the Zika virus. The number of babies born with Zika-linked
defects stood at 4,908 in April.
The letter is signed by 150 international scientists, doctors and medical
ethicists from such institutions as Oxford University and Harvard and Yale
universities in the United States.
While Zika's symptoms are mild, in the letter the experts say it causes babies to be born with abnormally small heads and may also cause a rare and sometimes fatal neurological syndrome in adults.
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