Researchers say Flamengo Beach, adjacent to the marina where sailing and windsurfing events will take place during the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is swimming with drug-resistant bacteria linked to urinary, gastrointestinal, and pulmonary infections.
Scientists from Brazil鈥檚 Instituto Oswaldo Cruz found the bacteria in samples taken close to the beach and along the Carioca River, which flows into Guanabara Bay. The beach is on the western edge of the bay. Nearly 70 percent of sewage produced by Rio鈥檚 10 million residents ends up in Guanabara Bay, including hospital waste in which the super-bacteria is typically found.
Eduardo Paes, mayor of Rio, has pledged to clean the bay ahead of the Olympics, . But in June, Paes admitted the country wouldn鈥檛 be able to reduce pollution in the bay by 80 percent in time for the games鈥攁 key aspect of his . Paes鈥 administration insists water pollution won鈥檛 be an Olympic health threat, even though Rio officials often declare Flamengo Beach unfit for swimming.