The passage of the intense tropical cyclone Chido on December 14, 2024, in Mayotte caused significant property damage, affecting not only essential infrastructure but also healthcare facilities. The exceptional situation in Mayotte poses numerous risks to public health. In response to this crisis and its significant impact on key stakeholders (doctors, pharmacists, laboratory technicians, associations, etc.), an adapted surveillance system has been implemented to account for current constraints. As a result, Santé publique France is collaborating with healthcare stakeholders to detect early any event that could pose a threat to public health.

How is health surveillance organized in Mayotte following the cyclone?

The routine surveillance system in place before the cyclone struck is no longer fully operational due to transportation difficulties and the lack of computer and communication networks. To address this, Santé publique France has established an emergency surveillance system to collect information directly in the field regarding the population’s health status from local stakeholders, including:

• the Mayotte Hospital Center,

• ESCRIM (the civil protection field hospital coordinated by the Ministry of the Interior),

• the referral medical centers,

• emergency shelters located throughout the territory.

The agency has thus adapted its “outreach” approach, which involves community-based surveillance, first implemented during the drinking water crisis in 2023.

Today, Santé publique France teams, reinforced by volunteers from the Health Reserve, are working on the ground with their partners: the Regional Health Agency, the Mayotte Hospital Center, and mediators from health and social service associations.
This collective effort enables the maintenance of health surveillance and the publication of an initial analysis of the cyclone’s health impacts, highlighting the main reasons for seeking medical care, including:

• wounds and trauma;

• exacerbations of chronic diseases;

• diarrhea and respiratory infections;

• psychological disorders.

Health surveillance will evolve as the healthcare system and communication networks are restored, with the aim of gradually returning to routine surveillance, as it existed before the cyclone struck.