Report on disasters and emergency preparedness for Jamaica, St. Vincent and Dominica

RESUMO

In 1979 the Caribbean was struck by three consecutive disasters. In April the Soufriere Volcano in St. Vincent erupted, forcing the authorities to temporarily resettle 20 percent of the population of the island to the already densely populated south. In July, floods caused extensive damage to the western parishes in Jamaica. In September, Dominica was left in a state of shock and complete destruction by Hurricane David, one of the most powerful hurricanes of this century. In all these disasters the immediate aftermath was characterized by uncertainty and fear of communicable disease outbreaks. In recent years the relationship between disasters and communicable disease outbreaks has been investigated several times. Little association was found to exist. In order to monitor closely what occurs following major disasters, specific post-disaster epidemiologic surveillance systems have been proposed. This report describes the experiences with setting up such surveillance systems in the Caribbean following the disasters in St. Vincent, Jamaica and Dominica. A similiar system was used, with variable degrees of success, in all three countries. The system was essentially based on the use of simple and sensitive infectious disease indicators through symptom-monitoring and the rapid investigation of reported outbreaks