Heading to the Olympics!

The Olympics are finally here… Are you ready? We are! Universal Doctor Speaker for iPhone and iPad will be Free for a limited time to accompany you to the Olympics. To celebrate this spectacular event, we’re excited to add two new languages to the app next week!

The 2012 London Olympic Games will bring together more than eight million residents, three million visitors and 14,000 athletes from more than 200 countries. That’s over 11 million people from different parts of the world expected in London! With all the excitement surrounding this 17-day event, people may forget about the health implications of mass gatherings like these. Ensuring that health risks are monitored, outbreaks are contained and people stay healthy will be no small feat.

Mass gatherings can be conducive to the introduction or spread of disease. Studies of mass gatherings have shown that top health risks include traveler’s diarrhea, foodborne and waterborne illness, and airborne disease. But it’s not just spectators that have to be prepared. Did you know that two members of Canada’s Olympic women’s badminton team have fallen ill due to a stomach virus? Or that a recent heatwave in London has produced the highest pollution levels the city has seen in six years? This could adversely affect athletes’ breathing, especially those already with conditions like asthma. But the City of London and public health officials have done a lot to prepare. Enhanced surveillance systems have been deployed for the Games that “will provide the first indication of emerging infections in the communities and in hospitals,” said Brian McCloskey, the London director of the Health Protection Agency (HPA), which works to protect the public from health threats. The HPA is collaborating with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)to ensure the health of spectators and athletes is protected.

So are you prepared for the Olympics? As a tourist or a doctor in London, you might find yourself in a situation where medical help is needed but language is an obstacle. With Universal Doctor Speaker on your iPhone or iPad, we can help avoid language being a barrier in any medical situation. Download UniversalDoctor Speaker today to help you communicate and understand medical information accurately and quickly. Soon we will have over 10 languages, with Russian and Romanian being added next week!