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>Months after initially reporting on the high levels of viruses in waterways that will serve as venues in the 2016 Rio Olympics, the Associated Press is back with another disturbing investigation. According to the AP, the virus and human waste-filled waterways of Guanabara Bay are more contaminated than previously thought — and could pose a real danger to athletes.
>While initially it appeared that the water pollution was worse closer to shore, the AP's newest investigation indicates that the virus levels are just as high further into the bay, where athletes will be competing.

>When the AP first performed tests in July, levels of human disease-causing adenoviruses in Guanabara Bay, which will host >Olympic sailing events, were up to 1.7 million times higher than what's considered a "safe" level in US and European waters. Adenoviruses can cause ear infections, conjunctivitis, and tonsillitis, among other things. They can potentially last in water from months to years.

>According to Zee, no one really knows how dangerous these levels of viruses are for Olympic sailors, who will likely be splashed with water during competition. The viruses and bacteria in the water could easily infect a cut or scrape, and would be especially dangerous if the water splashed onto their mouths or into their noses.

>This summer, a German athlete participating in an Olympics test event contracted a leg infection after sailing on the water
>Viruses aren't the only problem in Guanabara Bay. In July, the AP also found abnormally high levels of fecal coliform bacteria. Levels of the bacteria, which are linked to diseases like cholera and typhoid, were above normal in the bay, but not as high as the adenovirus levels. This could be because fecal coliform doesn't survive as long as adenoviruses in water.
http://www.techinsider.io/rio-olympics-waterway-has-raw-sewage-like-levels-of-viruses-2015-12