The health ministry of Brazil will release a smartphone app dedicated to helping visitors of the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro this summer keep track of and prevent the mosquito-borne Zika virus.
The unnamed app will be debut in May and will be available in English, Spanish, French, Arabic, Chinese and Russian, in addition to Portuguese.
The app will also assist users in self-diagnosis and, if needed, give them directions to the nearest health care facility, such as a hospital or pharmacy. There will also be an Olympic video game-like quiz to test people’s knowledge on the disease.
It was reported in February by the World Health Organization (WHO) that the Zika virus is “a public health emergency of international concern” which has many athletes, especially women, second guessing their participation in the Games.
Hope Solo, goalkeeper for the US Women’s soccer team, has told Sports Illustrated recently that if she had to make the decision, she would choose not to go to Brazil this summer because of the health concern. She also commented that female athletes should not be forced to make a decision that could jeopardize the health of an unborn child.
The virus, typically carried by the Aedes aegypti mosquito, can remain in the blood of an infected individual for about a week or longer, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and has the potential to be transmitted through sexual intercourse.
Athletes participating in or attending events on the already questionable water, like rowing or sailing, will stand a higher chance of being infected. Those competing in venues close to rainforests also have a high risk, but CBS News reports that teams will comb the Olympic grounds looking for stagnant waters where mosquitos can breed.
This app is a nice step in the right direction that the Brazilian Health Ministry is taking, but is ultimately a bandaid for a serious problem that could plague the Rio Olympics this summer.