Bloomberg: The Hurricane Did One Good Thing for Puerto Rico: It Blew Away Zika
“Hurricane Maria’s devastation had a silver lining for Puerto Rico: It killed, for now, most of the mosquitoes that carry the Zika virus. … But when a storm as strong as Hurricane Maria strikes, ‘those mosquito populations pretty much get wiped out,’ according to Thomas Skinner, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…” (Flavelle, 9/29).

Wired: After Hurricane Maria, could Puerto Rico be at risk of cholera?
“… ‘These factors — the presence of the V. cholerae bacterium, poverty, collapsed infrastructure, and lack of potable water access — create a toxic mix that could promote cholera outbreaks in Puerto Rico during the coming days and weeks,’ writes Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, in an article posted Tuesday. ‘Hurricanes Maria and Irma might indeed be those perfect storms.’ Spokespeople for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention downplayed the risk of cholera (but not of other possible outbreaks)…” (Rogers, 9/29).