see also:

• insect bites and stings

• major flooding events have an enormous impact on local communities in particular
• this impact may be further compounded by a range of illnesses that result from living in flooded / inundated areas or walking in flood waters, drinking flood contaminated water, use of generators for emergency power, mould exposures, etc

• Vic Govt: After a flood - animal and insect hazards
• Ross River virus (RRV) - epidemic polyarthritis, occurs in all states of Australia and is the most common mosquito transmitted disease with over 6,500 cases per year with occasional local epidemics with much higher numbers.
• Barmah Forest virus (BFV) - epidemic polyarthritis; found near Echuca on the Murray River as well as other States, but prevalence is 1/10th that of Ross River infections.
• Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) was detected for the 1st time in Australia in Feb 2022 in Echuca, southern and western NSW and in Qld
• Murray Valley encephalitis virus - north-western Victoria and other states, particularly after floods (eg. La Nina years such as 1951, 1974, 2011) as host is water birds. High subclinical rate with only 1 in 500 becoming ill.
• Kunjin encephalitis virus - rare infections - perhaps 1 a year.

• gastroenteritis esp. E. coli, Cryptosporidium
• hepatitis A

• staphylococcal
• streptococcal
• aeromonas
• tetanus

• leptospirosis from urine from rodents

• Vic Govt: After a flood - mould and your health
• after a flood, to prevent mould growth, clean up and dry out the house as quickly as possible (within 48 hours)
• ASSUME a house has mould after a flood if either:
  • it has been flooded for more than 2 days
  • mould is visible
  • there is water damage
  • there are strong, musty odours
• At risk people should AVOID being in mouldy homes or during clean ups of mouldy homes:
  • children under 12 yrs (esp. infants)
  • pregnant women
  • adults > 65yrs
  • persons with asthma, COPD or other lung conditions
  • immunocompromised
• cleaning up mould requires appropriate PPE including a P1 or P2 face mask
• mould may grow indoors in wet or moist areas that lack adequate ventilation, including walls or wallpaper, ceilings, bathroom tiles, carpets (especially those with jute backing), insulation material and wood.
• mouldy hay is a particular issue for farmers
• asthma
• hypersensitivity pneumonitis / bird fancier's lung / farmer's lung - mouldy hay, indoor mould
• inhaled fungal infections in the immunocompromised or in those with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD):
  • see aspergillus

• carbon monoxide poisoning (CO) from use of generators or heaters indoors due to power outages or to dry out a house
• snakebite and envenomation - snakes are much more likely to contact humans as they are displaced from their usual food grounds and they do swim in flood waters!
• spider bites
• ticks in Australia love the increased humidity after flooding and their numbers increase substantially - mainly an issue on the east coast

• acute grief reactions
• depression
• suicidality
• substance use
• interpersonal violence / domestic violence