When typhoon Usagi attacked Taiwan, heavy rain had caused serious floods in low lying areas. To counter the undesirable effects of floods, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) urged residents in flooded areas to pay attention to food safety and environmental hygiene and take preventive measures such as disinfection and cleaning vector-breeding sites to prevent infectious diseases. In addition, the public is advised to take the following measures:

1. While cleaning up households, protect your hands and feet by putting on protective gears such as waterproof boots and gloves to avoid contracting leptospirosis, melioidosis and tetanus.

a. Wear waterproof gloves and gumboots when cleaning the environment and avoid contact with contaminated water. After cleanup activities, wash up immediately and thoroughly with soap.  

c. Avoid exposing to contaminated water or damp soil and walking barefoot across suspicious ponds or still water, especially elderly people, people in poor health, people with weakened immune systems and people with chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and alcohol addiction.

d. People who develop symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, stomach ache, diarrhea, jaundice, fatigue should seek immediate medical attention and notify the doctor of the area of their residence and the history of their exposure to contaminated water and/or soil.

2. Observe proper water, food and environmental hygiene to prevent enteric diseases.

a. Heavy rain may cause an increase in water turbidity and affect water safety. If reservoirs have come in contact with floodwater, they should be cleaned and disinfected first, and then be refilled again. If disinfectant odor is present in your tap water, the water should be boiled for 3 minutes prior to consumption. When necessary, use bottled water to assure water safety.

b. Don’t use contaminated tableware and utensils until they have been disinfected.

c. Don’t consume food that has been soaked in the flood water or left unfrozen for too long.

d. Follow three steps: “clear, clean, and disinfect” to improve environment hygiene. After floodwater has receded, remove garbage while wearing waterproof gloves and boots. Walls, floors and furniture surfaces need to be cleaned with soap water. Carry out disinfection using liquid household bleach, especially at parts of the house where food is likely to be handled, such as table tops, cutlery racks in the kitchen, refrigerators and children^，s playing quarters. For disinfectants to achieve their designed effect, they needs to be diluted and used as indicated on the package or according to the following steps:  

I. In terms of disinfecting kitchen utensils and cutleries, cutleries should be boiled, and for those which cannot be boiled, soak them in a 200ppm chlorine solution (i.e. a solution of 40cc of liquid household bleach in 10 liters of water) for 30 minutes.      

III. In terms of outdoors areas such as gardens, gutters and other damp sites, rubbish removal and cleaning come before disinfection. The sites need to be sprayed with a 1,000ppm chlorine solution (i.e. a solution of 200cc of liquid household bleach in 10 liters of water), and residents engaging in disinfection need to protect their eyes and skin against the spray.   

3. Prevent dengue fever by eliminating habitats of vector mosquitoes.

a. Dry out flooded basements promptly and keep the areas free from moisture.

b. Outdoor containers that have been filled with water need to be cleaned so that they will not become a breeding ground for vector mosquitoes.          

c. Indoor water containers need to be emptied, cleaned and refilled weekly.

Taiwan CDC has prepared disinfection trucks and disinfectant to assist these residents in disinfecting their residences together with the local governments and will continue to closely monitor infectious diseases. Physicians are urged to report suspected cases as soon as possible. For further information, please contact local health bureaus or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Case Reporting and Care Hotline, 1922, or 0800-001922 if calling from a cell phone.