In the aftermath of Hurricane Melissa, six people have died in Jamaica of leptospirosis, a bacterial illness often spread by rat urine and found in contaminated waters after storms, public health authorities said on Friday.
An outbreak has sickened 37 people who are believed to have contracted the disease since the storm pummeled the island on Oct. 28, health officials said.
Just nine of those cases were confirmed through laboratory testing, but with power and phone service still down in affected areas, and hundreds of thousands of Jamaicans still exposed to high waters and unsafe conditions, far more people are likely to have contracted the disease, Christopher Tufton, the health minister, said.
Hurricane Melissa passed through western Jamaica as a powerful category 5 storm, killing at least 45 people and seriously damaging 146,000 structures.
The authorities said Jamaica was now also beginning to see consequences for public health.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial illness spread in the urine of infected animals, often rodents, that causes flulike symptoms in mild cases or kidney and liver failure in serious cases. Symptoms, which can be similar to flu or dengue, include fever, muscle pain, chills, vomiting and jaundice. The symptoms generally appear after recent exposure to contaminated water.
The bacterium, Leptospira, can survive in moist soil for months. Although considered rare in developed nations, rat infestations in New York City have led to a recent rise in cases there.
After Hurricane Maria swept through Puerto Rico in 2017, at least 26 people died of the disease.
The risk of its spread increases when people come in contact with floodwaters or even muddy soil, Mr. Tufton said. Farmers, emergency responders and people doing cleanup work are at particular risk, he said.
“Dead animals would carry the bacteria,” Mr. Lufton said. “It’s very easy to pick up the bacteria while you are doing your regular — or unusual — work of cleanup.”
Rodents displaced from their normal habitat because of flooding or storm damage can further spread the illness, officials said.
Before the storm, about two to 21 people per month would typically test positive for the disease, said Karen Webster Kerr, Jamaica’s chief epidemiologist. With nine days left, November had already seen about 35 cases, she said.
A vast majority of people who fell ill were men, and many were concentrated in the Montego Bay area, Dr. Webster Kerr said.
“Prior to Hurricane Melissa, you would have occupational exposure, meaning persons that work in farms, et cetera,” Dr. Webster Kerr said. “Now everybody has the likelihood of being exposed, because everybody is cleaning up, and a lot of persons are in those waters.”
Public health authorities started early detection and awareness campaigns, a challenge in communities that are still without power and cellphone service.
In addition to delivering food to affected areas, the health minister urged volunteers to also bring rubber boots, latex gloves and cleaning supplies.
“There are more cases out there than actually detected,” Mr. Lufton said. “It’s like Covid: For every one that’s detected, there may be five or six others in the environment. We can’t treat it lightly.”
Ian Stein, the Pan American Health Organization’s representative in Jamaica, commended the swift action and transparency of the country’s health authorities, adding that information flow in affected areas would be crucial for epidemiological teams to spot patterns.
“We often focus on a hurricane’s immediate path, and rightly so, as its impact can be devastating,” he said. “Yet in public health, we know that the aftermath can pose equally serious risks, particularly the threat of emerging diseases that tend to follow major storms.”
Jovan Johnson contributed reporting from Kingston, Jamaica.
Frances Robles is a Times reporter covering Latin America and the Caribbean. She has reported on the region for more than 25 years.
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