Citation

Floret N, Viel JF, Mauny F, Hoen B, Piarroux R. Emerg. Infect. Dis. 2006; 12(4): 543-548.

Affiliation

University Hospital of Besançon, Besancon, France.

Comment In:

Emerg Infect Dis 2006;12(9):1468; author reply 1469

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, National Center for Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

16704799

PMCID

PMC3294713

Abstract

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.

Language: en