The Seine River was sufficiently cleaned up with$ 1.5 billion to allow the French government to host the Olympic Triathlon’s swimming competition. The occasion was scheduled for Tuesday. Nevertheless, a test of the lakes found an intolerable levels of E. bacteria.  ,
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The health of the players is a top priority for Paris 2024 and World Triathlon, they say. The global governing body, World Triathlon, said in a statement today that the tests conducted in the Seine now revealed amounts of water quality that did not give sufficient guarantees for the organization of the event.
Something besides E. bacteria floating in the water?
According to Dr. Nicole Iovine, an infectious disease expert and main epidemiologist at UF Health Shands,” Current cities have distinct pipes for wastewater and runoff, but old cities like Paris have one for both,” the capacity is overused and the contents can pour into the Seine when it rains a lot.
Mkay, so there’s that to worry about.
Being an Olympic Triathlete means having to consider whether the good thing you stroked against was a piece of dirt or something else.
People intestinal contamination is” the most important risk factor” in racing events, according to World Triathlon. Swimming in water contaminated with feces can potentially lead to skin rashes, diarrhea, and , E. coli infections. Additionally, athletes may experience more infection during or right after the competition as a result of hormonal stress and other possible immune system-related factors.E. coli , levels should stay at or below 900 colony-forming units per 100 milliliters for” sufficient” water quality, according to World Triathlon. Only 1 of 4 test sites along the Seine showed levels below that limit, AP reports.
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The politics involved in putting this swim in the long-polluted river are what makes it so troubling ( there will also be marathon swimming events in the Seine ). The Paris government refused to insist that the events would take place in a river that posed a threat to people’s health despite the fact that Paris was established five thousand years ago.
E. coli can be consumed in its purest form without keeling over because of its measurements. But Paris officials are overjoyed. The Eiffel Tower in the background and the stunning old buildings that are visible on the Seine River, as well as$ 1.5 billion that were spent on cleaning it up, provided the visuals they desired.
After the Olympics, the River is returning to pose a threat to people’s health.
Swimmers always swallow some water, especially when they’re making a big effort during competition. According to Adalja and Iovine, when the water has a high fecal bacteria content, they may experience nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
” We’re in a state of balance between good bacteria and bad bacteria”, Iovine notes.
” If you get in an influx of bad bacteria that disrupts that homeostasis, that’s where illness can occur”.
If the water gets into the eyes, it can cause eye infections like conjunctivitis, both experts say.
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Given that the Seine River will be almost as polluted as it ever was in a few weeks,$ 1.5 billion seems like a lot of money to spend on a stunt.
Ah! Paris.
