Initial Public Health Laboratory Response After Hurricane Maria - Puerto Rico, 2017

Abstract

Hurricane Maria made landfall in Puerto Rico on September 20, 2017, causing major damage to infrastructure and severely limiting access to potable water, electric power, transportation, and communications. Public services that were affected included operations of the Puerto Rico Department of Health (PRDOH), which provides critical laboratory testing and surveillance for diseases and other health hazards. PRDOH requested assistance from CDC for the restoration of laboratory infrastructure, surveillance capacity, and diagnostic testing for selected priority diseases, including influenza, rabies, leptospirosis, salmonellosis, and tuberculosis. PRDOH, CDC, and the Association of Public Health Laboratories (APHL) collaborated to conduct rapid needs assessments and, with assistance from the CDC Foundation, implement a temporary transport system for shipping samples from Puerto Rico to the continental United States for surveillance and diagnostic and confirmatory testing. This report describes the initial laboratory emergency response and engagement efforts among federal, state, and nongovernmental partners to reestablish public health laboratory services severely affected by Hurricane Maria. The implementation of a sample transport system allowed Puerto Rico to reinitiate priority infectious disease surveillance and laboratory testing for patient and public health interventions, while awaiting the rebuilding and reinstatement of PRDOH laboratory services.

FIGURE 1

Disruption of electrical grid powering the Puerto Rico Department of Health laboratories caused by Hurricane Maria — San Juan, Puerto Rico, September 2017* Photo/CDC * The cables shown directly powered a section of the laboratory’s facility and were knocked down by the storm.

FIGURE 2

Restoration of laboratory services after Hurricane Maria — San Juan, Puerto Rico, October 2017–January 2018 Abbreviations: APHL = Association of Public Health Laboratories; PRDOH = Puerto Rico Department of Health; TB = tuberculosis.