Katrina health risks rise with flooding

Jane Weaver Health editor • Profile • E-mail

Katrina pounded Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, causing extensive flooding, widespread devastation and leaving millions without electricity.

The federal government began rushing meals, medical teams, baby formula, communications equipment, generators, water and ice into hard-hit areas, along with doctors, nurses and first-aid supplies.

Some areas could be without power for weeks, local energy officials say. Ten major hospitals in New Orleans were running on emergency backup power.

Michael Brown, the director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Tuesday that additional medical personnel were being moved in to treat evacuated hospital patients.

With at least one New Orleans hospital threatened by Katrina’s floodwaters, patients were being transferred to the Superdome, he said.

Not safe for residents to return home
Government officials were urging the public not to return to their homes yet, but to hold off until first responders and emergency workers could clear the hardest hit areas and city streets.

In some of the low-lying areas most heavily hit by flooding, it could be weeks before residents can return to their neighborhoods, Brown told NBC's "Today" show Tuesday.

The Department of Health and Human Services sent 38 doctors and nurses to Jackson, Miss., to be used where needed, and 30 pallets of medical supplies to the region, including first aid materials, sterile gloves and oxygen tanks.

In the coming days, Gulf Coast residents will be confronting significant health risks from contaminated water and food supplies. When people finally get back home, they will be dealing with a lack of clean drinking water and spoiled food from the loss of electricity.

"The needs don’t end when the storm recedes," says Dr. Jeffrey Goldhagen, director of the Duval County Health Department in Florida.

For example, a 50-foot water main broke in New Orleans, making it unsafe to drink the city’s water without first boiling it.

"There are concerns about the well supply, sanitation, safety of the drinking water and food supply and waste disposal," says Patrick Libbey, executive director of the National Association of County and City Health Officials in Washington.

Infections and heat-related illnesses
People are also vulnerable to heat-related illnesses and dehydration, conditions which can be compounded by the lack of clean drinking water.

Immediate infections that could result from exposure to filthy floodwaters include gastrointestinal illnesses, diarrhea, salmonella, hepatitis viruses and skin infections from infected wounds.

"It's the perfect setup for skin infections," says Dr. Jeff Starke, head of infectious diseases control at Texas Children's Hospital in Houston.

There could also be some unexpected encounters with poisonous or dangerous wild animals disoriented by the hurricane and flooding. New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin told MSNBC TV Monday that he had "serious concerns" about poisonous snakes or alligators wandering into the city.

"People need to stay conscious that they can run into a snake or alligators that usually live in the swamps," he said.

Mosquitoes are another danger in flooded areas, so during clean-up it's recommended to use insect repellents that contain DEET or Picaridin and to wear long-sleeved clothing especially during early morning and evening hours. Mosquito bites can cause infectious illnesses such as West Nile.

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