Examining the relationship between infectious diseases and flooding in Europe: A systematic literature review and summary of possible public health interventions

Brown, Lisa; Murray, Virginia

It is important for health officials and the public to understand that exacerbation of disease risk factors contribute to infectious disease outbreaks following flooding. Population and individual vulnerability and resilience factors can worsen or mitigate infectious diseases following flooding. The community needs to be aware of actions that can facilitate or prevent infectious disease. To mitigate infectious disease risk following flooding, those involved in flood planning, response, and recovery should be aware of the results of this systematic literature review. If climate change causes more floods, then the future health burden of infectious diseases from floods could increase. In Europe, maintenance and continuous adaptation and improvement of public health measures is important to sustain the low risk of infectious disease outbreaks following floods. Presently, there are clear research needs to improve the understanding of the association between infectious diseases and flooding: • More robust epidemiological studies on infectious diseases covering the pre-, mid-, and post-flood periods. • Further research assessing the effectiveness of public health interventions minimizing risk from infectious diseases following flooding. • Investigation of infectious disease incidence following smaller flood events. • Analysis of the differences between summer and winter flooding on infectious disease incidence. • Analysis of the differences between flash and riverine flooding on infectious disease incidence.