The Centers for Disease Control (hereafter referred to as the CDC) said today (the 24th) that due to a tropical low pressure system and southwest winds, the southern and eastern half of the country have experienced significant heavy rain in recent days. After rain, when the public cleans up their homes they may come into contact with sewage, sludge, or breeding disease‑carrying mosquitoes in standing water, leading to risks of infection with leptospirosis, anthrax‑like disease, intestinal infections, and dengue fever; the public is urged to follow the three‑step prevention measures “equipment must be complete, diet must be careful, eliminate breeding sources” when cleaning, to protect their own and their families’ health and stay away from infectious diseases.
The CDC explained that Leptospira is widely present in rodents (such as rats), wildlife, pets (dogs, cats less common) and livestock (cattle, pigs, horses). Infected animals may be asymptomatic, but they shed large amounts of bacteria in their urine, contaminating water and soil. When people clean standing water and sludge, the bacteria can enter the body through skin cuts or mucous membranes. The pathogen that causes anthrax‑like disease is found in contaminated soil, ponds and standing‑water environments. Because wind and rain can expose the pathogen in soil and mud to the surface and make it spread more easily, transmission can occur not only by contact but also by ingesting contaminated water or inhalation. The CDC urges the public, after rain, to wear masks, gloves and long rain boots when cleaning indoor and outdoor environments, and to wash hands after removing equipment; if symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, abdominal pain, diarrhea, jaundice, fatigue, etc. appear—especially in people with chronic illnesses—please seek medical care promptly and actively inform the doctor of relevant exposure history, injury cause and wound contamination to aid diagnosis.
The CDC reminds that if flood‑affected reservoirs become contaminated by sewage, they should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected before refilling, and the water should be boiled completely before drinking; food that has been soaked in water or thawed for too long should not be consumed. At home, surfaces can be wiped with commercially available chlorine bleach diluted 100‑fold (10 c.c. bleach + 1 L clean water). Kitchenware and tableware should be boiled for disinfection, or disinfected with a solution of 40 mL bleach in 10 L clean water, then rinsed with clean water before use. Before meals, be sure to wash hands properly with soap or hand wash to ensure hand hygiene and reduce the risk of intestinal infections.
The CDC notes that because international travel is frequent during the summer, imported dengue cases continue to appear domestically. The public is urged to proactively inspect their homes after rain, implementing the “inspect, dump, clean, brush” steps: carefully check indoor and outdoor containers, dump standing water and remove unnecessary containers. If there are large discarded containers, contact the cleaning crew for removal; any remaining items should be thoroughly scrubbed to remove mosquito eggs, turned upside down to dry, and stored properly. If symptoms such as fever, headache, diarrhea, nausea/vomiting, retro‑orbital pain, muscle or joint pain, rash, etc.—possible signs of dengue—appear, please seek medical care promptly and inform the doctor of recent activities to facilitate early diagnosis and reporting.
The CDC has inventory‑checked and confirmed that the national stock of disinfectants is sufficient, with currently 159,556 bottles of disinfectant (137,832 bottles of bleach, 21,724 bottles of phenolic disinfectant) available for household sanitation, distributed across all regions. It will continue to monitor local needs and dispatch supplies urgently as needed. In addition, the CDC will closely monitor post‑disaster infectious disease trends, urging the public to be vigilant and seek medical care promptly if any discomfort occurs, and to inform the doctor whether they have been exposed to sewage or bitten by insects. The CDC will also issue a circular to the medical community, urging healthcare facilities to stay alert, strengthen TOCC inquiries and report relevant infectious diseases in real time, to enable health authorities to take early preventive measures.
Source: Centers for Disease Control
Data compiled: Infection Control Office
