UNMC’s Dr. Hewlett honored to advise U.S. Olympic team

When infectious diseases threaten to cross into the U.S. Olympic Team’s lane, UNMC’s Angela Hewlett, MD, is on call as a trusted adviser to protect the Olympic athletes’ health.

For the 2024 Paris Games, Dr. Hewlett – a professor of infectious diseases at UNMC, the George W. Orr, MD, and Linda Orr Chair in Health Security and medical director of the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit – was asked to assist U.S. swimming officials on health questions involving the Seine River.

Her connection built on her involvement with the Olympic team’s preparations for the 2020 Tokyo games – which started at a time when COVID-19 was rising. For those games and the subsequent Winter Olympics, Dr. Hewlett not only advised the team, but also helped gather an advisory board of other specialists.

Dr. Hewlett said it’s humbling to assist some of the best athletes in the world and the team’s officers.

“They want to do everything possible to try to keep these elite athletes as healthy as they can so that they can go on and compete, because it’s a chance of a lifetime and they don’t want illness to interfere,” Dr. Hewlett said. “Any small role that I’m able to play in that, I’m definitely happy to.”

Dr. Hewlett still remembers the call in February 2020 when the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee’s chief medical officer expressed concern about COVID-19 and asked her to serve as an infectious disease adviser to the team.

She said that’s a course she never thought her career would take – and almost couldn’t believe it at first.

“There’s no way I could say no to that,” Dr. Hewlett said.

At the time, the Nebraska Biocontainment Unit’s reputation for expertise into the most serious infectious diseases had grown, and the med center’s infectious disease leaders were stepping into the unknowns around the novel coronavirus.

The 2020 Tokyo Olympics ended up being held in 2021, which led six months later to the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing. Dr. Hewlett helped advise on all things COVID-19, from infectious disease mitigation strategies to treatment of infections at anywhere from training sites to the games themselves.

Much of the health spotlight for the 2024 Paris Olympics has focused on Paris’ use of the Seine River for triathlons and marathon swimming, even though the river has long been off limits for swimming because of water quality. The chief medical officer again asked Dr. Hewlett to assist, this time advising the U.S. team’s physicians on the more specific questions about precautions for athletes swimming in the Seine.

Dr. Hewlett researched the medical literature on the health risks and water quality involving the river. She corresponded with the team’s physicians. And she suggested ways to decrease the risk of illness, such as making sure the athletes were vaccinated against Hepatitis A, offered advice on what to watch for in potential illnesses after swimming and suggested antibiotics to have on hand for potential treatment.

As she watched television coverage of the games’ opening ceremonies, she noticed the heavy rain – and immediately thought about the potential for runoff to contaminate the Seine.

The triathlons have gone off, but not without some delays and controversy over water quality.

Dr. Hewlett said she’s happy to assist, calling her advisory roles “an interesting part of my job description.”

“I’m very honored to be asked to contribute, and I’m happy to continue to assist them as time goes on.”