Recently it has been reported that the World University games are threatened by Swine flu, with an Australian athlete having been diagnosed with the disease.
There have been swine flu cases reported in Serbia since the games started and this has fuelled a lot of fear amongst those who are there, the public at large and among those who have their sons and daughters sent to the games.
Serbia is reported to be doing all it can to avoid the spread of the disease. It has since started quarantining those already infected.
They are also said to be requiring medical certificates from athletes coming to the games and doing checkups on a daily basis.
On June 11, 2009 the World Health Organization (WHO) is said to have raised the worldwide pandemic alert level to Phase 6 in response to the ongoing global spread of the novel influenza A (H1N1) virus, also known as swine.
A Phase 6 designation indicates that a global pandemic is underway.
Swine flu is transmitted amongst humans and is caused by a virus. Despite these reports, the Botswana team is said to be safe.
In an interview with Sunday Standard, the Sports Officer at the University of Botswana, Taolo Botshelo, revealed that Batswana should rest assured that our athletes are safe.
She stated that they have a team doctor who took all the necessary precautions before the team left for Serbia.
“There is usually a certificate that needs to be done before the team leaves to certify that they are fit and our team doctor did that a day before they left,” Botshelo added.
Asked how Team Botswana is doing at the World University Games, she said so far they haven’t started their competitions.
“Most of our team players are still at rest and will start to participate on the 7th”, she said.
The games are the 25th World University Games and were officially opened in Belgrade, Serbia on the 1st of July. The games are expected to end on the 12th of this month.
In addition, the games are also the biggest international multi-sport event organised for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation. The games are said to have attracted about 9,000 student athletes, coaches and officials from 143 countries and regions.
