--- title: Zika at the Olympics: Why Risk is Low at Rio 2016 Olympics description: Why massive spread of Zika is unlikely at the Rio 2016 Olympics. canonical: https://time.com/4420009/why-massive-zika-spread-is-unlikely-at-the-olympics/ author: Alexandra Sifferlin article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-07-25T21:00:18.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T23:29:19.008Z article:section: Health og:title: Zika at the Olympics: Why Risk is Low at Rio 2016 Olympics og:description: Why massive spread of Zika is unlikely at the Rio 2016 Olympics. og:url: https://time.com/4420009/why-massive-zika-spread-is-unlikely-at-the-olympics/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb78207701581c223/69889f1c2dce0183899ea01d/rio-olympics-zika.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: rio-olympics-zika og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Zika at the Olympics: Why Risk is Low at Rio 2016 Olympics twitter:description: Why massive spread of Zika is unlikely at the Rio 2016 Olympics. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb78207701581c223/69889f1c2dce0183899ea01d/rio-olympics-zika.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why Massive Zika Spread is Unlikely at the Olympics > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jul 25, 2016 9:00 PM UTC  Getty Images; Illustration by Marisa Gertz for TIME by [Alexandra Sifferlin](https://time.com/author/alexandra-sifferlin/) ## Alexandra Sifferlin Jul 25, 2016 9:00 PM UTC Having the [Rio 2016 Olympics](http://motto.time.com/4246643/nastia-liukin-olympic-commentator-prep/) in a country with an ongoing [Zika epidemic](http://time.com/4304583/what-every-woman-need-to-know-about-zika/) has some athletes and physicians concerned. But a growing number of scientists are predicting few new infections from the virus during the Games. A new report, published Monday in the journal _Annals of Internal Medicine,_ predicts that in a worst-case scenario there will be between six to 80 new cases of [Zika](http://time.com/4318624/zika-virus-and-birth-defects-what-you-need-to-know/) among travelers at this summer’s Olympics. “Because few pregnant women likely will attend the events owing to travel advisories, these estimates reiterate previous statements of the low personal effect of \[Zika virus\] on travelers,” the study authors write. Why might infections be so low? The authors of the new study argue that people who are attending the Games are at a lower risk of being exposed to Zika compared to the general Brazilian population since they will, for the most part, be staying in areas that have screens and air conditioning. August is also winter in Brazil, and health experts [have said](http://time.com/4360632/zika-rio-olympics/) that the number of biting mosquitoes will likely be down. Active mosquito control, like regularly removing stagnant water, is also expected at the Olympic venues. The new study isn’t the first to provide low estimates of infection. [At least two other studies](http://time.com/4360632/zika-rio-olympics/) have predicted less than 20 new infections, using a variety of estimation models. [As TIME has previously reported](http://time.com/4360632/zika-rio-olympics/), infectious disease experts have expressed a low level of concern about mass spread of the disease from the Games for some time. Since millions of people have already traveled between Brazil and other countries during the height of the outbreak, some scientists say that much of the virus’ introduction into other countries has already happened. Health authorities are still urging travelers to [take the virus seriously](http://time.com/4360632/zika-rio-olympics/). In the U.S. over 1,400 travelers are infected and there are close to 800 pregnant women in the U.S. and territories with the virus. Health authorities recommend that people also protect themselves from mosquito bites when they return to their home country, so that if they do contract the virus, they don’t spread it to local mosquitoes. 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