Fears over Olympic athletes catching 'rat pee disease' from water-based events
Paris officials have tried to ease concerns of athletes amid fears the River Seine will not be safe to swim in during the Olympic Games.
Paris 2024 organisers have taken steps to ensure Olympic athletes aren’t struck down by a disease related to rat urine. While the French capital is renowned for its beautiful landmarks and cuisine, it is notorious for its high number of rodents.
Of particular concern ahead of the Games has been the state of the River Seine, which hosts the marathon swimming at the Olympics and the swimming legs of the Olympic and Paralympic triathlons. There have been question marks over whether the river is safe to swim in due to the presence of a type of bacteria present in rat urine that can cause leptospirosis.
The illness can lead to flu-like symptoms and, in worst-case scenarios, cause liver and kidney damage. Steps have been taken to clean up the city ahead of the Games.
Since 2015, organisers have invested £1.1billion to prepare the Seine for the Olympics and to ensure Parisians have a cleaner river in the years after the Games. More recently, to control the rat population, traps have been deployed.
“All of the Olympic sites and celebration areas were analysed [for rats] before the Games," deputy mayor Anne-Claire Boux, who has responsibility for public health, told AFP.
“Where there were areas with lots of rats we put traps in place ahead of the Games. Ultimately, no one should aim to exterminate Paris's rats, and they're useful in maintaining the sewers. The point is that they should stay in the sewers.”
In a publicity stunt to prove the Seine is fit for Olympic athletes, Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo swam in the river last week. Minister of Sports and Games Amelie Oudea-Castera took a dip a few days earlier.
Clad in a wetsuit, Hidalgo plunged into the river near the City Hall, her office, and the Notre Dame cathedral. Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet and the top government official for the Paris region, Marc Guillaume, joined her in the water. “The water is very, very good. A little cool, but not so bad,” Hidalgo said upon emerging.