Negligible Risk for Epidemics after Geophysical Disasters

Details

• Alternative Title:
  Emerg Infect Dis
• Personal Author:
  Floret, Nathalie ; Viel, Jean-François ; Mauny, Frédéric ; Hoen, Bruno ; Piarroux, Renaud
• Description:
  After geophysical disasters (i.e., earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis), media reports almost always stress the risk for epidemics; whether this risk is genuine has been debated. We analyzed the medical literature and data from humanitarian agencies and the World Health Organization from 1985 to 2004. Of >600 geophysical disasters recorded, we found only 3 reported outbreaks related to these disasters: 1 of measles after the eruption of Pinatubo in Philippines, 1 of coccidioidomycosis after an earthquake in California, and 1 of Plasmodium vivax malaria in Costa Rica related to an earthquake and heavy rainfall. Even though the humanitarian response may play a role in preventing epidemics, our results lend support to the epidemiologic evidence that short-term risk for epidemics after a geophysical disaster is very low.
• Subjects:
  Disasters Disease Outbreaks Earthquake Humans Risk Assessment Risk Factors Tidal Waves Tsunamis Volcanic Eruptions
• Source:
  Emerg Infect Dis. 12(4):543-548.
• Document Type:
  Journal Article
• Volume:
  12
• Issue:
  4
• Collection(s):
  Emerging Infectious Diseases
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha256:bbed2e34891e9f4074d31efb0eed5105860a1a7f0dc05327f0959e9d083e818a
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/16176/cdc_16176_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 204.61 KB ]