Last May, we posted about concerns over high concentrations of sewage and garbage in Rio de Janeiro’s Guanabara Bay, where 2016 Olympic sailing competitions are slated to be held.  Now scientists at a Rio de Janeiro research institute have found what they call a new antibiotic resistant “super-bacteria” in the same waters. As reported by The Telegraph:

The bacteria is similar to other known strains but is resistant to the usual drugs, said Ana Paula D’Alincourt Carvalho Assef, the coordinator of the study that was published on the Oswaldo Cruz’s website.  “There is the risk of contracting diseases, which are not more serious that those caused by other microorganisms,” Assef said, adding that no cases have yet been reported. “The problem is that in case of infection it is possible that treatment involves hospitalisation.”

Sailors who visited Rio for test events ahead of the Games criticised the state of the water, with some describing it as “filthy”.

More than half the water that flows into the Guanabara Bay is sewage and organisers have vowed to reduce that amount by 80 per cent by the time the events start in Aug 2016.