In the six years since Rio de Janeiro was chosen to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, billions of dollars have been poured into the renovation and construction of the city’s transportation system, sporting venues, hotels and urban infrastructure. With the Olympics just months away—the games take place from Aug. 5 to Aug. 21, followed by the Paralympics—Rio is frantically getting itself ready to welcome 10,500 athletes from around the world, as well as the 1.3 million tourists the sporting event is anticipated to draw.
For months, Chabad-Lubavitch of Rio de Janeiro has also been preparing for the influx of Jewish visitors. At least 250 athletes are Jewish, and some 40,000 members of the tribe are expected to descend on the beachside city over the three weeks the games will be played, one-quarter of them Israeli.
“We’ve been working overtime to make sure that every Jew who comes here will have their religious needs fulfilled,” says Rabbi Yehoshua Binyamin Goldman, regional director of Chabad of Rio de Janeiro. “I’ve been in close contact with my colleagues in Sochi, Russia [host of the 2014 Winter Olympics] and London [2012 Summer Olympics], who did a great job catering to Jewish guests in previous years. They have been very helpful to us in planning our activities.”
Preste atençao !
A situação do Zika no Brasil é muito, muito seria. 24/7 observação é urgente agora. O Ministério da Saúde Brasileiro tem que publicar as estatísticas com 100% honestidade sobre Microcefalia e Guillain-Barrè Síndrome. Tem agora mais de 7000 casos. 7% de aumentação linear. O estado do Pernambuco, a casa do falecido Eduardo Campos, foi o epicentro do surto.
FATO: No dia 30 de outubro de 2015 foi a primeira vez que eu alertei publicamente sobre os perigos para o mundo do surto no Brasil do vírus mutante Zika !
THE JEWS AND BRAZIL/RIO 2016
The Chabad Rabbis in Rio in their enthusiasm are being cavalier about the threat of the Zika virus. Many people are underestimating the risk of Zika in Brazil. Right now there are over 1200 Jewish pregnant women in Brazil who are very worried about being infected by the mutant Zika virus. Any Jewish visitors to Rio 2016 (If it actually goes ahead of course…) whether they be athletes, support crew or spectators will also be exposed to the risk of Zika.
MICROCEPHALY AND OTHER COMPLICATIONS
The consequences to babies affected by mutant Zika+ virus triggered severe Microcephaly are catastrophic. Here is a list of “complications” for babies & adults proven up to now as a result of infection from the mutant Zika+ virus :
1 : Microcephaly
2 : Guillain-Barré Syndrome
3 : Severe Ventriculomegaly, when the brain is more liquid than it should be.
4 : Eye Damage
5 : Atrophies such as Arthrogryposis, which harden the muscles and joints
6 : Meningoencephalitis
7 – Acute Disseminated Encephalomyelitis
8 – Encephalitis
9 – Myelitis
10 – Other neurological disorders.
Stay tuned for more “complications” that may be found from Zika+ infection…
THE NUMBER OF MOSQUITOES IN RIO DE JANEIRO IN AUGUST
The claim that the mosquito population suddenly disappears or goes into hibernation in winter in Rio de Janeiro is fanciful. Brazil is a Mecca for Mosquitoes. It never gets too cold in Rio and humidity and rainfall are perfect for mosquitoes all year round in Rio. If mosquitoes worldwide were interviewed on where is a good place to settle and lay eggs on the Planet, Rio would be near the top of the list. Brazil is in the top 20% of countries for mosquito breeding. Ask any decent entomologist.
The only states where there is any great drop in the mosquito population in the winter months in Brasil are Rio Grande do Sul, Santa Catarina and to a lesser extent Paraná. The City of Rio de Janeiro’s topography and latitude is very amenable to mosquitoes. Plus the favelas of course. (How’s the clean up operation going for Guanabara Bay BTW ? And all the drains, sewerage systems in Rio ?)
See this comment from seven weeks ago from ABC regarding the mosquito problem in Rio.
“Brazilian and Olympic officials have sought to dispel concerns about Zika in August by saying that the month, mid-winter in the southern hemisphere, is typically a time when there are fewer mosquitoes in Rio. But a Reuters review of municipal health data showed other infections spread by the same mosquito, known as Aedes aegypti, can be as bad in August of some years as they are during what would normally be peak months for infections in others.”
MUTATION OF THE VIRUS
FACT : A mutation event with the Asian strain of Zika happened in late 2014 in NE Brazil. Thus you can call it Zika+ now. This is why the virulence increased, huge upsurge in severe Microcephaly cases, GBS etc. The virus went “nuclear”. The number of base pairs of the genome has increased from the earlier Asian strain. The base pairs number in all the verified Zika samples to date vary from 10,272 to 10,807. Number of base pairs in the genome has grown. Tiny changes in structure of a virus can change its behaviour dramatically. Mutations in a virus can either be : Benign; Neutral or Negative. i.e. They become more dangerous/virulent. A big block of Semtex on its own is largely harmless. But add a tiny detonator to it and it becomes very dangerous indeed.
Proof of the mutation..
Comparative genomic analysis of pre-epidemic and epidemic Zika virus strains for virological factors potentially associated with the rapidly expanding epidemic;
Citation: Emerging Microbes & Infections (2016) 5, e22; doi:10.1038/emi.2016.48 Published online 16 March 2016
http://www.nature.com/emi/journal/v5/n3/full/emi201648a.html
THE PERSISTENCE OF VIRUS QUESTION
CDC recommends Zika+ infected people delay conception. Abstinence times suggested of 8 weeks for women & 6 months for men ! Take note 80% of people who are infected with Zika+ are asymptomatic. i.e. They don’t know they carry the mutant virus. Next point : Asymptomatic Zika+ individuals may be infectious to others. So logically does this mean that if you travelled to a Zika+ outbreak area & you’ve been bitten you should delay conception? Or…If you have been bitten by a mosquito in a Zika+ outbreak area you should get a test to see if you have Zika+ ? The “Persistence of Virus” question with Zika+ hasn’t been clarified. Pauline Cafferkey’s Ebola relapse case. Zika+ similar?
TO SUM UP
Recent statement about the current Zika+ pandemic by various “leaders” remind me of the movie “Idiocracy”.
Is the Zika+ Outbreak a “Black Swan/Mosquito Event” that will impact the US Election Race, Rio 2016 etc. ? Stay tuned…
P.S. The IOC should wait until at least the end of May before deciding on whether Rio 2016 should go ahead or not. The IOC/USOC, the Australian Olympic Committee and all responsible NOC’s must wait until the end of May to check on the true situation in Brazil and Rio ! They have a responsibility to protect the health and safety of their athletes, support crews and the spectators. If they don’t conduct an independent audit, with random spot checks, of birth centres, hospitals in Brazil to get the true statistics regarding Zika+ triggered severe Microcephaly it will be a dereliction of duty. Unless of course they only see their female employees, sorry, athletes as cash cows/guinea pigs/gladiators. “Ka Ching !”
Yes and in addition there will be a huge number of nonathletes, from support staff to tourists, who may or may not have access to quality health care. They will travel, will be bitten, a large number of those infected will be both asymptomatic and will not have pregnancy problem either (males, non pregnant ladies), so they will not see any doctor. But will have been in contact with the virus. Will any of them infect mosquitoes in other countries, and make Zika+ endemic in a large part of the world? Also, human-human transmission has already been proved in a few cases. There are actually two separate CDC recommendations, with regards to conceiving and also in regards to the health of our spouse. Plus, the CDC state very clearly that it is not yet known whether Zika+ is eliminated by the immune system and medications or whether, like Ebola or the varicella, it can stay for decades within the human host and can reactivate and/or be contagious.
I agree with the previous commenter, PAY ATTENTION if you really have to go!
As for canceling the event – it should have been canceled, but unfortunately, it won’t be.