With the 2016 Summer Olympics less than six months away, competitors in more than 25 different sports are hard at work to qualify for their event. Meanwhile host city Rio de Janeiro finds itself struggling to prepare for their arrival against obstacles including citizen protests, a lack of proper sewage systems and the recent outbreak of the Zika virus in South America.

“Hosting the Olympics is all about prestige,” Advanced Placement (AP) Comparative Government and United States Government teacher Brian Robinson said. “It shows that the country is strong enough, rich enough and stable enough to host world games.”

Brazil’s Olympic Committee has faced violent unrest triggered by the construction of the Olympic village.

“Brazil has had to level a slum to build a stadium and had to displace people in order to build these new venues,” Robinson said.

Disposal of sewage waste is another major threat to proving that Rio de Janeiro is not developed enough to host the games.

“When it was chosen to host the Olympics, part of the deal was that Rio had to establish sewer systems, and they’ve had some success in some locations but not all,” AP Environmental Science teacher Julia Drake said. “People have actually been swimming in water that contains human excrement.”

The Clean Urban Delta Initiative is one of the proposed solutions to remove rubbish from Rio de Janeiro’s harbor waters, but it is unlikely that it will be put into effect due to Brazil’s economic recession.

“It should not just be cleaning up the water for the Olympics but doing it for the people of Brazil,” Drake said. “It’s a human right to clean water.”

The main incentives for hosting the Olympics are the economic benefits and the increase in tourism predicted by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).

“In terms of economic benefits, in the short run, Brazil will receive an influx of capital,” Economics teacher David Van Derven said. “Tourists bring profit, street vendors and souvenir profits go up, more cab rides are taken, hotels fill up rooms, you name it.”

Although there are many economic and social factors that push nations to host the games, like every high profile event such as the FIFA World Cup, there are unseen consequences to taking on such large projects.

“It’s like any other Olympics,” Van Derven said. “Every country that does it loses money.”

Despite the short term spike in tourism, historically the Olympics have had a long-term negative impact on the host nation’s economy. This is exemplified by the hosting of Athens 2004 which initiated Greece’s financial crisis.

“They invest so much in infrastructure that they’re not going to use again,” Van Derven said. “You make a stadium and then you don’t fill it.”

Another threat raising international attention is the Zika virus, a Flavivirus similar to mosquito-borne diseases, such as Dengue fever and West Nile.

“Eighty percent of people are asymptomatic,” Drake said. “They don’t actually know that they have it or notice.”

The Zika virus originated in Africa, however due to the increase in global air travel, the virus has produced severe cases in South America.

“There are a small percent of people that have symptoms to the point where they’re hospitalized,” Drake said. “But it’s very rarely lethal.”

The symptoms of the Zika virus include a low grade fever, joint pain or rash, but despite the virus’ ability to affect any demographic, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) has only issued a health warning for pregnant women.

“There have been cases where the Zika virus is associated with microcephaly, a condition where babies are born with a smaller than normal head,” Drake said. “Brazil has actually asked women not to get pregnant for the next two years because they don’t know the full effects of the virus.”

With Aug 5, the start of the Olympics quickly approaching, Brazil only has a couple months left to fully prepare for this worldwide event. Although there are proposed strategies, the solution to the various issues at hand will remain unknown until opening day.

“We’re not going to know anything until the summer,” Robinson said.