The role of the ocean as a vector in disease transmission

Abstract

There are certain oceanographic events specifically El Niño, tsunami, and hurricanes that catalyze and intensify disease breakouts. The ocean creates the prime environments necessary for bacteria to thrive or ocean-borne diseases to spread. In order to model phenomena like El Niño and take preventative measures against them, it is necessary to use probability distribution and numerical models as well as early warning systems. Tsunami can catalyze disease outbreak by creating stagnant water pools, flooding, the breaking of sewage lines, and overpopulated refugee camps. Each of these factors harnesses infectious diseases such as cholera, typhoid fever, skin rashes, and of course malaria and dengue fever. Model and data assimilation can be used in order to construct predictions for the intensity of a tsunami after water has been displaced at a respective location in the ocean. The DART (Deep-ocean assessment and reporting of tsunami system) system, with assistance from surface buoys/BPR deployments, can accurately send out emergency signals to regions that will be affected by the generated tsunami. Although the natural phenomena such as El Niño, tsunami, and hurricanes have been studied to be causes of disease outbreak, the ocean's role has yet to be analyzed thoroughly. Future directions include the use Oceanographic principles to determine intensities of these phenomena and then warn and help salvage communities.