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

Water-borne outbreaks are an acute aftermath of flood disasters, mainly as a result of contaminated drinking water supply. Intense precipitation can mobilize pathogens in the environment and transport them into the aquatic environment, increasing the microbiological agents on surface water. [17] [18] [19] [20] Chen et al. 21 found extreme torrential rain (> 350 mm) was a significant risk factor for enteroviruses (RR = 1.96; 95% CI 1.474-23.760) and bacillary dysentery (RR = 7.703; 95% CI 5.008-11.849). Globally, water-borne epidemics have shown an increasing trend from 1980-2006 which coincides with the increasing number of flood events. 2 According to a global systematic literature review performed by Cann et al. 17 the most common water-borne pathogens to be identified following flooding were vibrio spp. The most common water-borne pathogens associated with heavy rainfall were campylobacter, followed by vibrio spp.