Impacts of Typhoon ‘Koppu’ on Infectious Diarrhea in Guangdong Province, China

This study aims to quantify the impact of typhoon ‘Koppu’ on infectious diarrhea in Guangdong, China in 2009. Rate ratios (RRs) were calculated by comparing person-time of infectious diarrhea cases between typhoon period and reference period. RRs of dysentery and other infectious diarrhea increased to a maximum of 1.12 (95% CI, 0.86-1.47), 1.10 (95% CI, 1.00-1.20) on the fifth lag day respectively. Children under 5 years were more vulnerable to infectious diarrhea, especially to other infectious diarrhea [RR: 1.21 (1.07-1.36) Vs. 1.03 (0.89-1.82)] after typhoon compared with people aged >5 years when RRs were at maximum. A mildly increased risk of infectious diarrhea was not only observed in great damaged regions, but also in other areas.