The following is a joint statement, released on Saturday, September 7th, 2019 by the Bahamas Ministry of Health (MOH) and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO):
“The Ministry of Health and the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) wishes to advise that no islands in The Bahamas are under quarantine.
Floods can potentially increase the transmission of water-borne and communicable diseases. Nevertheless, there have not been any detected cholera cases at the moment, nor any increased number of infectious diseases due to the hurricane.
The Ministry of Health and PAHO recommends that the population in the affected areas drink and use safe water and also continue to practice good hygiene such as hand washing to prevent water-borne diseases.
After a disaster the priority is to care for the survivors. Contrary to common belief, there is no evidence that corpses pose a significant risk of disease “epidemics”. This is because most agents e.g., virus and bacteria do not survive long in the human body after death.
The Ministry of Health is monitoring the health situation closely and will keep the public updated.”
For more information about flooding, communicable diseases and the management of corpses visit the links below:
www.who.int/hac/techguidance/ems/flood_cds/en
