KINGSTON, Jamaica — Health officials declared a deadly outbreak of leptospirosis following record-breaking rains from Hurricane Melissa, blamed for at least six suspected deaths and dozens of infections spread across eight parishes since late October. Contaminated floodwater and brimming drains have turned yards, farms, and city streets into breeding grounds for the bacteria, officials said, stoking fears that the toll from the Jamaica leptospirosis outbreak will rise further as cleanup efforts persist on Nov. 24, 2025.
Nine cases have been laboratory-confirmed between Oct. 30 and Nov. 20, with another 28 suspected or probable cases under investigation, Health Minister Christopher Tufton said, noting that declaring an outbreak leads to a faster, better-coordinated response across the island. “The outbreak comes in the aftermath of the passage of a storm, which has resulted in flooding that has likely contributed to risk of exposure,” Tufton said, and he urged residents — especially farmers, cleanup crews and rescue workers — not to wade through floodwater; to wear boots; gloves and protective clothing if they needed to do so; and to seek care quickly if they developed high fever, severe headache, muscle pain or jaundice.
The only reported case outside St Catherine was in St Thomas. Most of the infections in the Jamaican leptospirosis outbreak were reported in western parish St James, which recorded 17 suspected and confirmed cases, as well as two of the deaths, followed by Hanover, St Ann , and St Elizabeth, where a number of further fatalities have been reported. For now, a total of eight parishes have reported confirmed or suspected cases — including St. Mary, Westmoreland, St. Catherine, and Trelawny — and most of those infected are young men in their 20s, officials say.
Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection that spreads when people come into contact with water or soil contaminated with the urine of infected animals, usually rats, dogs, or livestock. It frequently begins with symptoms like those of the flu, but in severe cases, it can cause kidney failure, liver damage, meningitis, or life-threatening lung bleeding if not treated promptly with antibiotics.
What we know so far about the Jamaica leptospirosis outbreak.
The Jamaica leptospirosis outbreak is linked to flooding and landslides that followed Hurricane Melissa, which struck the island as a Category 5 hurricane on Oct. 28, dumping some 30 inches of rain and leaving an estimated US$10 billion in damage. Early international assessments, including a comprehensive dispatch from Reuters, conclude that nearly 200,000 buildings were damaged and that key tourism and agricultural hubs were submerged, leaving thousands of victims living amid mud, debris, and stagnant pools where bacteria flourish.
Jamaica’s Ministry of Health has mobilized an islandwide response that includes targeted cleanup efforts, the distribution of disinfectants and protective gear, additional rodent control measures, and greater public education about the disease. Officials say they have acquired thousands of PCR tests for leptospirosis, set up more than 100 point-of-care testing sites, and supplied hospitals with antibiotics and other supplies to treat people with severe disease.
The response from regional partners began even before the first infections were confirmed. A few days after the hurricane struck in late October, the Pan American Health Organization also trained Jamaica’s National Public Health Laboratory to detect leptospirosis, and it sent diagnostic kits that can process up to 4,000 samples in an effort to identify cases early and prevent a broader spike of infections, according to a PAHO case study.
How Hurricane Melissa turbocharged disease threats
Hurricane Melissa, touted as Jamaica’s “storm of the century”, hit with sustained winds at nearly 185 mph and a recorded 252 mph wind gust by the Washington Post’s weather team as it carved through the island. The storm’s rapid intensification and extreme rainfall, in part the result of unusually warm ocean waters associated with climate change, have made it ideal for diseases spread by water, like leptospirosis, to move through inundated homes, farms, and informal settlements, scientists say.
Public health experts caution that the outbreak of leptospirosis in Jamaica is happening at a time with a pattern the region knows all too well.
A review of leptospirosis in the Caribbean published in 2017 concluded that Jamaica had one of the world’s highest incidence rates — it represented about half of all cases reported in the region from 1980 to ‘05, except for Cuba, where surveillance was exemplary — and that outbreaks occurred following periods of heavy rain and flooding, which in turn tended to be followed by spikes; researchers said poor drainage, densely settled urban areas and extensive rodent populations together consistently married with tropical storms and led to outbreaks.
Keeping communities safe as the Jamaica leptospirosis outbreak develops
Similar trends unfolded following Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017, when dozens were later found to have died of leptospirosis during lingering power outages and water shortages. An investigation outlined in U.S. media reports found the government’s decision not to declare an outbreak early likely impeded surveillance and public warnings, circumstances Jamaican officials say they are determined not to duplicate.
In the meantime, officials stress that the outbreak of leptospirosis in Jamaica is serious but manageable if people can reduce their exposure to it and get care quickly. Residents are being advised not to have bare-skin contact with floodwater or mud, to wear boots and gloves during cleanup, to cover cuts and scrapes with waterproof dressings, to keep food in sealed containers, and to work with local authorities to reduce rodent infestations around homes and businesses.
In the coming weeks, Jamaicans who develop sudden fever, severe headache, muscle pain, vomiting, and either red eyes or yellowing of the skin should call a clinic immediately and note any potential exposure to floodwater. As the country works to recover from Hurricane Melissa’s devastation, public health officials say controlling the spread of leptospirosis will be an important test of how well Jamaica can adapt to a future of stronger storms and the infectious disease threats they carry.
