Flood-associated disease outbreaks and transmission in Southeast Asia - Introduction 14

Shidonna Raven

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Authors: Boonfei Tan ¹

Patrick De Vera ²

Josephine Abrazaldo ²

Charmaine Ng ^1*

Source: Frontiers

Photo/Image Source: Unsplash

2.3 Anthroponotic reservoirs: source of sporadic outbreaks

Anthropogenic reservoirs of infection sustain a range of human-adapted pathogens that can fuel large diarrheal outbreaks following floods (Figure 1). Ingestion of fecally contaminated food or drinking water remains the primary route of transmission for a wide range of foodborne pathogens across AMS (Dewanti-Hariyadi, 2024). These pathogens including Vibrio cholerae, Enteric microorganisms, viral agents (e.g., norovirus, hepatitis A and E virus), and protozoan parasites (e.g., Cryptosporidium, Giardia) are often linked to sporadic outbreaks and isolated cases but can escalate into large-scale diarrheal events during floods (De Guzman et al., 2015; Lopez et al., 2015; Nga et al., 2018; Roberts et al., 2020; Alba et al., 2016; Muhammad et al., 2020; Swaddiwudhipong et al., 1995; Udompat et al., 2024). Like the other diarrheal pathogens mentioned earlier, typhoid caused by Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi also spreads through the fecal–oral route via contaminated water and food. Many of these pathogens including both S. typhi and toxigenic V. cholerae, linked to major outbreaks following a flooding event (Glass et al., 1984; Lopez et al., 2015;