Hurricane Matthew Will Aid The Spread Of Zika

Charles Pierce makes an interesting point about one of the impacts of the devastating Hurricane Mathew in Florida that probably very few people have considered. The hurricane and its aftermath will result in the further spread of the Zika virus. There are really three ways the hurricane will help the virus spread. First, all the standing water left after the rain and the storm surge from the hurricane will offer great breeding grounds for the mosquito that carries the disease. Second, the evacuations of millions from the Florida coast will potentially move Zika-carrying people into other areas of the state or country where mosquitos can contract the virus and start to spread it. Third, people from outside the infected area will probably be coming into the area in order to help with the cleanup. These people can then get infected and carry the virus back home, wherever that may be, with them.

There is a precedent for this type of spread. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina that devastated New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, there was a significant spike in the number of West Nile virus cases. It is quite probable that we will see something similar in the aftermath of Matthew. Thankfully, the GOP Congress allocated money to fight the virus earlier this year so officials should be in a good position to deal with this potential problem. Oh wait, it seems they only passed that bill last week which is not really enough time to prepare for something like this. Thanks, Mitch.