Katrina :: Storm Effects
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Effects of the Storm :: Hurricane Katrina :: Aftermath : Health
There is growing concern that the prolonged flooding will lead to an outbreak of health problems for those who remain. In addition to dehydration and food poisoning, there is also potential for the spread of hepatitis A, cholera and typhoid fever, all related to the growing contamination of food and drinking water supplies in the city compounded by the city's characteristic heat and stifling humidity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_Hurricane_Katrina_on_New_Orleans
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Aftermath : Health Effects
There is growing concern that the prolonged flooding will lead to an outbreak of health problems for those who remain. In addition to dehydration and food poisoning, there is also potential for the spread of hepatitis A, cholera and typhoid fever, all related to the growing contamination of food and drinking water supplies in the city compounded by the city's characteristic heat and stifling humidity. Survivors may also face longer-term health risks due to prolonged exposure to the petrochemical tainted flood waters and mosquito-borne diseases such as yellow fever, malaria and West Nile Virus.
As of September 2, an emergency triage center has been set up at Armstrong airport. A steady stream of helicopters and ambulances are bringing in the weak, elderly, sick and injured. Baggage equipment are being used as gurneys to transport persons from the flight line to the hospital set up in the terminal. The captain in charge described the site as "organized chaos" but the emergency medical staff assembled from around the country is keeping pace. Equipped to handle anything from bruises to critical cases requiring ventilators, the site is triaging survivors and then sending them on to medical centers in the surrounding states.
By Saturday, the situation at Armstrong airport started to stabilize. Up to 5,000 people had been triaged in the past two days and fewer than 200 remained at the medical unit.
Hospital evacuations continued into Saturday. Reports from the Methodist Hospital highlighted the suffering in the city with people dying of dehydration and exhaustion while the staff worked unendingly in horrendous conditions. The first floor of the hospital flooded and the dead were stacked in a second floor operating room. Patients requiring ventilators were kept alive with hand powered resuscitation bags. [34].
On September 6, E. coli was detected in the water supply. According to the CDC five people have died from bacterial infections caused by the toxic waters [35]. The deaths appear to have been caused by the Vibrio vulnificus bacteria, of the Cholera family.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effect_of_Hurricane_Katrina_on_New_Orleans
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