RIO DE JANEIRO — An investigation conducted by the Associated Press found that the waters in Brazil’s Guanabara Bay, Copacabana Beach and Rodrigo de Freitas Lake where athletes will compete during the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games are full of human sewage and could present a serious threat to athletes’ health. The four rounds of viral and bacterial water testing were conducted by top Brazilian virologist Fernando Spilki for the international newsgathering organization. The results consistently found high counts of active and infectious human adenoviruses, which can cause diarrhea, violent vomiting, respiratory problems and other illnesses. Some competitors training in Rio have already felt ill. According to the Associated Press, they reported fevers, vomiting and diarrhea. When Rio de Janeiro bid to host the 2016 Olympic Games, the city said it would clean up the amount of raw sewage flowing into the bay and cut it by 80 percent. But in reality, by early 2015, the amount of sewage treated before reaching the bay had actually only reached 49 percent from 17 percent. From August 5 to August 21, 2016, more than 10,000 athletes from over 200 countries are expected to compete in the Olympic games in Rio. Nearly 1,400 of them will come into contact with waters. According to Reuters, sailors and rowers familiar with the Olympic waters, as well as some competitors, were not too concerned about the quality of the water. "We've spent a lot of time there the past few years and haven't had any issues with the water," American Paige Railey, winner of a gold medal in the women's laser radial in last week's Pan American Games was quoted by Reuters as saying. "Honestly, Rio has been doing a great job with the water, we haven't had any issues. I think it's fine. I even swim in it, it doesn't bug me at all." Brazilian authorities insist that the water quality in the race lanes will be safe by the time of the competitions. However, the Associated Press’ investigation found that not a single venue is fit for swimming or boating, and according to international experts, it is too late for a cleanup. ----------------------------------------­--------------------- Welcome to TomoNews, where we animate the most entertaining news on the internets. Come here for an animated look at viral headlines, US news, celebrity gossip, salacious scandals, dumb criminals and much more! Subscribe now for daily news animations that will knock your socks off. Visit our official website for all the latest, uncensored videos: http://us.tomonews.net Check out our Android app: http://bit.ly/1rddhCj Check out our iOS app: http://bit.ly/1gO3z1f Stay connected with us here: Facebook http://www.facebook.com/TomoNewsUS Twitter @tomonewsus http://www.twitter.com/TomoNewsUS Google+ http://plus.google.com/+TomoNewsUS/ Instagram @tomonewsus http://instagram.com/tomonewsus

• published: 01 Aug 2015
• views: 11476