Ebola Situation Challenging for Federations

(ATR) International sport federations are at a loss as to how to handle Ebola.

Former IOC medical commission chairman Arne Ljungqvist tellsAround the Ringsfederations may be reluctant to admit their lack of knowledge or precautions regarding the situation.

"I think that we are in a situation where many are not prepared or informed about all of this," Ljungqvist said.

"Earlier on, local outbreaks of Ebola have been usually managed by quick action. It was not much of an issue except in areas where it has occurred... This is an unusual situation, even for the World Health Organization, and I don’t think people are prepared for it, so they have difficulties giving comments," he concluded.

The virus first affected the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing. AftertheChinese embassy expressed concern about Ebola,the IOC banned athletes from Ebola-stricken countries in West Africa from competing in combat and water sports. The outbreak has been most notable in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

In September, nine wrestlers from west Africa were banned from competing in the World Wrestling Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, after the country's health board recommended wrestlers from affected regions not be invited.

ATRcontacted combat sport federations and aquatics federation FINA about plans to deal with Ebola in their sports. The International Judo Federation and the World Taekwondo Federation offered their regulations and precautions against the Ebola virus, while FINA and the International Boxing Association AIBA did not respond to requests for comment.

Larisa Kiss, director of the presidential office of the International Judo Federation, said that they are aware of the threats of the disease and the virus in judo.

"So far, the only case where this was a concern in our sport was in Nanjing, when we had one competitor from Guinea," Kiss said.

"We had discussions with the IOC, who explained to us the possible risks involved as per the recommendations of WHO and the Chinese national health authorities, and we were informed that the Guinean NOC retired the athlete from the competition."

"However, the athlete in question did participate in several cultural and educational activities that did not implicate any risks to others."

She added that no other special measures were taken, as none of the countries directly affected by the Ebola virus registered for the Judo World Championships.

A representative of the WTF toldATRin an emailthat the Ebola virus has had little effect on the federation and the sport as a whole.

He mentioned that no athlete has been denied entry into any WTF-sanctioned competition on the grounds of Ebola, and that no upcoming competitions were set to take place in West Africa.

One medical expert believes that federations have little to worry about, asno evidence has arisen to link the spread of the disease and sports.

"Theoretically, it's possible," Dr. Nasia Safdar, the medical director of infection control at UW Hospital- Madison, Wisconsin,told ATR. "It has not been described at this point."

"The thing with Ebola is that people who have the disease are generally pretty sick, and you cannot transmit the disease before you have symptoms."

"So someone who's in the early stages of Ebola would likely not be playing, so during play it would be hard to transmit," she concluded.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3,440 have died in the Ebola outbreak so far.

Written by Andrew Murrell

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