Hurricane Idalia put Florida hospitals on high alert this week, preparing for potential flooding or power outages that could disrupt operations. Clinical leaders and health officials should also be vigilant for a separate threat in the coming weeks: infectious diseases.
Hurricanes can create conditions that increase the risk of disease transmissions and magnify public health challenges, according to the CDC.
"Post-hurricane conditions may pose an increased risk for the spread of common infectious diseases, like influenza and less common illnesses, like leptospirosis, hepatitis A, and vibriosis," the agency's website reads.
Experts attribute this trend to several factors. For one, people in affected areas may gather in overcrowded shelters where diseases can easily spread. After Hurricane Sandy hit New York in 2012, officials reported several outbreaks of infectious viral gastroenteritis, according to a 2021 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health.
People may also be exposed to pathogens from wading through flood waters, study authors said. In 2017, two people in Texas died from necrotizing fasciitis after being in Hurricane Harvey floodwaters with open wounds. Floodwaters can also carry pathogens that sicken people and create breeding grounds for disease-carrying mosquitoes to thrive.
The researchers reviewed more than 50 studies examining health outcomes after hurricanes and found infectious disease outbreaks most often emerged one to three months after a hurricane makes landfall. Hurricane Idalia hit Florida as a Category 3 storm Aug. 30 before traveling north to Georgia, according to NBC News.