Whereas Olympic athletes gear as much as show they’re the most effective on the earth, Paris metropolis officers have their very own prep underway to scrub up an necessary Olympic venue—the Seine River, which is able to host the swimming marathon in addition to the swimming legs of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlons (however not the browsing competitors—that’ll be held in Tahiti).
Within the wake of stories about excessive ranges of E. coli within the water, Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo took a dip final week to point out there’s been progress.
In late June, take a look at outcomes of the water have been murky. A French water monitoring group revealed contamination ranges to be method above secure limits decided by the World Triathlon Federation, in accordance with the Related Press.
“Like lots of older cities, the pipes [in Paris] that carry sewage and storm water are the identical pipes, versus separate pipes in newer cities,” Nicole Iovine, MD, UF Well being’s chief hospital epidemiologist and an infectious illness specialist, tells Effectively+Good. “When there’s lots of rain, these pipes can go over capability after which there’s runoff that results in the Seine or different our bodies of water.”
In actual fact, the river has been off-limits to swimmers for the final 100 years due to excessive air pollution ranges.
France has invested $1.5 billion to improve town’s sewer system and its wastewater remedy crops, and each day water high quality exams have proven enchancment. However micro organism ranges within the river can change from daily, Dr. Iovine says, particularly after heavy rain.
That is doubtless why issues are nonetheless circulating concerning the Seine’s water high quality as we close to the Video games’ opening ceremony on Friday. Right here, Dr. Iovine explains why.
What occurs if you swim in E. coli-infested water?
Excessive ranges of E.coli within the river generally is a respectable concern for athletes’ well being. As swimmers plunge into the Seine, water will inevitably get into their eyes, ears, and mouth whereas they’re swimming towards gold.
In the event that they ingest sufficient dangerous micro organism, they may find yourself with diarrhea—much like the results of meals poisoning. “That might be the commonest [side effect],” Dr. Iovine says. However there is a smaller likelihood of extra critical penalties: “If somebody has a small open wound on their pores and skin, that would turn into contaminated from swimming within the water,” Dr. Iovine notes.
How doubtless is it that athletes would get sick?
The likeliness of athletes getting sick is unclear, per Dr. Iovine. That’s as a result of ranges can change every day, so threat will be larger relying on the day (and the climate).
“It’s laborious to say. If there’s a brilliant excessive degree of contamination and so they’re swimming in it, then there’s a better likelihood that somebody would get sick,” Dr. Iovine says. “If ranges are reasonable or solely a bit bit above what could be the brink, that makes it lots much less doubtless that somebody will get sick.”
The excellent news? “These are athletes—tremendous wholesome individuals who are typically youthful,” Dr. Iovine says. “All of that’s of their favor and would assist to make it much less doubtless that they’d even get sick within the first place.”
You possibly can watch the Paris Video games’ open-water swimming competitions starting August 8. NBCUniversal is the official U.S. broadcaster for the Paris 2024 Summer season Olympics, however you you can even watch on Peacock, NBCOlympics.com, NBC.com, USA Community, CNBC, and E!
—reviewed by Jennifer Logan, MD, MPH
