Although Oktoberfest began 200 years ago, this year's festival is only the 177th, since it wasn't held during the two World Wars and during a cholera outbreak, organizers say.
While some health officials have mentioned the possibility of cholera and typhoid, Osterholm said those diseases don't pose a problem because they didn't exist in the region before the hurricane.
"Cholera can be treated quickly and people can get better quickly but the challenge is ensuring they don't get re-infected and clean drinking water needs to be available, " he said.