The heavy rains brought by the annual plum rain and the southwest airflow has resulted in serious floods in several areas. The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) urged residents in flooded areas to pay attention to food safety and environmental hygiene and take the following measures to lower the risk of contracting infectious diseases.　　

1. As contaminated water, contaminated mud and disaster waste often result following torrential rains, be sure to wear waterproof gloves, gumboots, and facemasks when cleaning the environment in order to prevent puncture wounds or cuts by rusty objects that could lead to leptospirosis, melioidosis and tetanus. People who develop sym 民眾版 ptoms such as fever, headache, muscle pain, stomach ache, diarrhea, jaundice, and fatigue should seek immediate medical attention and notify the doctor of the area of their residence, the cause of injury and the history of their exposure to contaminated water, mud and objects in order to facilitate diagnosis and treatment.　
2. 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. Do not consume food that has been soaked in the flood water or left unfrozen for too long. To disinfect indoor areas, floors, walls, toilets, showers, kitchens and bedrooms need to be wiped clean and disinfected with a 500ppm chlorine solution (i.e. a solution of 100cc of liquid household bleach in 10 liters of water). Do not use contaminated tableware and utensils until they have been disinfected. To disinfect kitchen utensils and cutleries, they should be boiled, and for those that 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. The residents in areas where the water service has been interrupted are urged to pay special attention to the quality of their tap and drinking water. Be sure to consume only boiled or bottled water. After the water service has resumed, if there is an increase in tap water turbidity or a change in the color or smell of the tap water, remember to report the issue to the local Water Department immediately. Schools and restaurants that use ground water as the secondary water supply should make sure the water supply well has not been contaminated by sewer overflows or other contaminants. Ground water that has not been disinfected and assessed for the quality should only be used for flushing toilets and watering plants, and should not be used for cooking, drinking and washing hands.
3. As the torrential rains have resulted in serious floods that can significantly promote the breeding of vector mosquitoes in several areas in Taiwan, the public is urged to attend to their environmental hygiene through voluntarily and periodically emptying and cleaning any standing water on the rooftop and in the basement and draining or removing any unused containers that collect standing water such as used tires, cans, canvas, plastic bottles, and plant pots in order to reduce the breeding of vector mosquitoes and prevent the transmission of dengue fever.　　

Taiwan CDC will remain in close contact with the local health bureaus in the nation to monitor the occurrence of infectious diseases following the heavy downpour. For more information, please visit the Taiwan CDC website at http://www.cdc.gov.tw or call the toll-free Communicable Disease Reporting and Consultation Hotline, 1922 (or 0800-001922).