17/05/2016 (Agence Europe) - Olympic Games: ECDC warns of Zika virus risks. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has not discounted the possibility of contamination by the Zika virus at the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Rio. In a risk assessment published on 10 May, the ECDC highlights gastrointestinal illness and vector-borne infections as the main risks that European visitors to the games will face. “Although the probability of being bitten by an infected mosquito is expected to be very low during the events, it cannot be excluded that travellers can become infected and return to regions of the EU where competent vectors are active. This may create an opportunity for local vector-borne transmission in the EU”, says the Centre, pointing out that the games will take place during the winter season in Rio (August-September), reducing the risks of infection. The exception to this is Manaus, in the north-west of the country, where a number of football matches are due to be played. The assessment document can be consulted at: http://bit.ly/23HgNGe (SPj)