As Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands continue to recover from the devastating effects of Hurricanes Irma and Maria, a group of Democratic U.S. Senators recently sent a letter to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Brenda Fitzgerald requesting information on the spread of water- and vector-borne disease outbreaks.
The senators expressed concern that due to damage to the islands’ sanitation infrastructure, residents of the islands were at risk of contracting waterborne diseases such as leptospirosis and vector-borne diseases such as Zika virus, both of which have reportedly been diagnosed in people in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
“Left with no other options, many Puerto Ricans are bathing, washing clothes, and drinking from unsafe water-including streams and rivers contaminated by raw sewage,” the letter said. “On the U.S. Virgin Islands, residents are still advised to use boiled or bottled water for drinking and cooking, and there have been recent problems with potable water standpipes.”
The letter continued, stating that without concerted efforts to reduce the risk of waterborne illnesses, it was conceivable that other diseases could spread.
In order to gain a better understanding of the issues currently facing the islands, the senators requested information from the CDC including lists of all water- and vector-borne diseases in both territories and how many confirmed cases of each disease, the steps the CDC is taking to support efforts to test and diagnose illnesses, and the biggest public health challenges facing the islands.
Additionally, the senators inquired about what resources the CDC needed from Congress in order to mitigate damaging health effects for the islands’ residents and how the status of water- and vector-borne diseases on Puerto Rico compared with that on the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The letter was signed by U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Patty Murray (D-WA), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Edward Markey (D-MA), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Cory Booker (D-NJ), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), and Brian Schatz (D-HI).