Μake us preferred on Google Health authorities in Crete are investigating a cluster of gastroenteritis cases in Rethymno, just days after severe storms caused flooding and landslides across much of the island. About 30 people have gone to Rethymno hospital with symptoms since Friday, Oct. 2, according to Dr. Antonis Papadakis, general director of public health and social welfare for the Region of Crete. The true number of cases may be higher.
Officials have not yet determined what is causing the illnesses. One possibility under examination is that recent flooding may have affected the water supply. Authorities are also considering whether the cases are the result of a viral infection.
Papadakis told local outlet Creta24 that water tests had been ordered in all four regional units of Crete. The testing follows five days of severe weather that flooded homes and businesses, damaged roads and farmland and triggered landslides across the island. Some areas were cut off by torrents of water and mud.
There is, however, no evidence so far that the gastroenteritis cases are connected to the floods.
Greece’s National Public Health Organization (EODY) is also trying to determine whether the patients have anything in common that could point to the source of the outbreak. As part of that effort, patients are being asked about where they had been and what they had consumed before becoming ill.
Authorities are awaiting the results of the water tests and the epidemiological investigation before drawing conclusions about whether the illnesses are connected to the flooding or are part of a separate viral outbreak.
