"UN asking expert panel to assess Zika risk at Rio Olympics"

After being asked to evaluate the Zika outbreak in Brazil, WHO Director-General, Dr. Margaret Chan, will hold a conference with the U.N. to discuss the threat the virus will pose to both athletes and spectators of the coming Olympics this summer. So far, Brazil has been the hardest hit out the the 60 countries affected by the Zika virus and has seen nearly 1,500 birth defects linked directly to Zika. Unfortunately, experts within the WHO have assessed that canceling or postponing the Olympics will not diminish the threat that the virus poses to the rest of the world and the WHO has not seen an overall decline in the epidemic since February. However, because the Olympics will take place during Brazil's winter, the WHO and the U.N. agency have predicted that there will be fewer mosquitoes to transfer the virus during the time frame of the event.

Meredith Teuscher

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2016/06/03/un-experts-being-asked-to-examine-zika-risk-at-rio-games/85341404/