THE WARNINGS – AT 11:38 A.M. ET:  The Rio Olympics begin in early August.  There are repeated warnings about health conditions in Rio, with serious medical authorities cautioning pregnant women, or those close to pregnant women, not to go because of the Zika virus, which can cause birth defects.  And then there's this, from Reuters: 

RIO DE JANEIRO Scientists have found dangerous drug-resistant "super bacteria" off beaches in Rio de Janeiro that will host Olympic swimming events and in a lagoon where rowing and canoe athletes will compete when the Games start on Aug. 5.

The findings from two unpublished academic studies seen by Reuters concern Rio's most popular spots for tourists and greatly increase the areas known to be infected by the microbes normally found only in hospitals.

They also heighten concerns that Rio's sewage-infested waterways are unsafe.

A study published in late 2014 had shown the presence of the super bacteria - classified by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as an urgent public health threat - off one of the beaches in Guanabara Bay, where sailing and wind-surfing events will be held during the Games.

The first of the two new studies, reviewed in September by scientists at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Diego, showed the presence of the microbes at five of Rio's showcase beaches, including the ocean-front Copacabana, where open-water and triathlon swimming will take place.

The other four were Ipanema, Leblon, Botafogo and Flamengo.

The super bacteria can cause hard-to-treat urinary, gastrointestinal, pulmonary and bloodstream infections, along with meningitis. The CDC says studies show that these bacteria contribute to death in up to half of patients infected.

COMMENT:  Hey, what's to worry about?  There's money to be made on the Olympics.  The highest standards of safety should be maintained for athletes and visitors, but I get the sense that the glory of the first Latin American Olympics, and the aforementioned cash, are considered far more important by the decision makers.

We hope, of course, that the warnings are wrong.  If they are not, we are in for a heartbreaking disaster.  The better part of wisdom might be to cancel the Olympics, or move events to other countries.  It ain't gonna happen.

June 11,  2016