Food and Waterborne Disease Outbreaks after a Super Typhoon Hit the Southern Philippines during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Triple Public Health Emergency.

Abstract

During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, a super typhoon struck the southern Philippines, killing hundreds of people, displacing hundreds of thousands of families, and affecting millions of Filipinos. Apart from posing a threat to public health in the country, which is still dealing with the pandemic effects of being the most affected country in the Western Pacific Region, the natural disaster also brought with it another burden, as many provinces reported outbreaks of food and waterborne diseases as a result of contaminated drinking water, damaged water pipes, water supply outages, unsafe food preparation, and poor sanitation. These triple public health emergencies of super typhoon, food and waterborne infections, and COVID-19 can be extremely difficult to manage, especially since hundreds of health care facilities were also damaged by the recent natural disaster, and many health care workers are becoming ill as a result of the appearance of novel COVID-19 variants of concern in the country. Although these challenges can be devastating, Filipinos have a reputation for being resilient in the face of disasters and emergencies.