Olympics will come and go but Zika is here to stay, scientists say

Rio 2016 Chief Medical Officer, Joao Grangeiro, speaks as he attends a briefing for international media in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 7, 2016. REUTERS/Sergio Moraes

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - Battered by a presidential impeachment and the worst recession since the Great Depression, Brazil is getting a rare bit of relief as Rio de Janeiro prepares to host the Olympics: declining numbers of Zika infections.

Since the start of the Zika outbreak, which wreaked havoc across Brazil's northeast earlier this year, many physicians and would-be visitors have worried the Games could be a catalyst to spread the virus internationally.