Officials worried about tuberculosis transmission, one new case was found in a shelter. Health authorities were able to trace about 70 percent of the patients they knew had previously been on TB treatment so they could be kept on it, the C.D.C. said. TB patients who are taking their antibiotics are usually not infectious.
That is not likely, but dead bodies may leak feces that will contaminate the water and could lead to gastrointestinal infections.
First, make sure that your electrical system is safe and there are no gas leaks. Check for structural damage.
Once inside, there is likely to be toxic sludge. Throw out any food that has come into contact with floodwaters, unless it’s well packaged in metal, waterproof glass or hard plastic containers. Even then, wash it off first.
Don’t run gas-powered electrical generators indoors or use gas or charcoal grills indoors. These can cause carbon monoxide to build up and kill you.
“Many people are already back into their homes that have been flooded with two or three feet or more of water, said Winifred J. Hamilton, director of the environmental health service at Baylor College of Medicine. “We are already seeing piles of carpet and sofas on the curb.”
“As the water dries,€¯ she said, “you are going to have mold spores made airborne.”
She advised anyone who has asthma, respiratory disease or is immune-compromised not to take on the cleanup. “You should get someone else to do it if possible,”€¯ she said. “And wear personal protection equipment so that you are not breathing in toxins.”
Yes, watch out for snakes. Humans aren’t the only creatures who were seeking dry ground.
West Nile virus is endemic in the United States and outbreaks are triggered by several factors, including the concentrations of culex mosquitoes, humans who are not immune, and birds who are not immune. (The virus builds up to higher concentrations in bird blood than in human blood, so mosquitoes tend to pick it up from them to give to humans.) Birds were also probably driven away from coastal Texas by Hurricane Harvey’s winds.
In 2005, in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, there was initially no increase in cases of West Nile virus or St. Louis encephalitis, which is also spread by mosquitoes, noted Dr. Peter J. Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. But a year later, there was a surge in dangerous neuroinvasive€¯ West Nile disease in the affected regions of Louisiana and Mississippi: Cases of encephalitis and meningitis more than doubled. Researchers from Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine speculated that more people were bitten that year because they were outside doing reconstruction work or living inside partially-destroyed houses that mosquitoes could invade easily.
“The big thing I’m worried about is norovirus, said Dr. Persse, Houston’s chief medical officer. “That’s the “cruise ship virus” with a lot of people in a small space, it can spread really quickly.”
The disease causes vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration. It is not normally fatal to otherwise healthy people, but severe dehydration can kill frail older adults.
In shelters, it can be hard to control. Health officials try to stop outbreaks by quickly taking the sick to separate rooms where they are given food and entertainment, there is no wait for toilets and the floors are washed frequently with bleach.
Dr. Persse’s medical teams are walking through shelters now looking for people vomiting. Shelter populations are thinning out as people return home or find other places to stay, so the danger is decreasing.
After Hurricane Katrina, 200,000 refugees ended up in 750 shelters in 18 states, and there were scattered outbreaks of various diseases, the C.D.C. said.
About 1,000 cases of diarrhea in more than 20 shelter clusters were reported. One Dallas-area shelter had 30 skin infections with MRSA, an antibiotic-resistant form of staphylococcus bacteria.
This is a partial re-publication of an article from the NY Times about health hazards following the hurricane and flooding, offer here as a public service. You can go to the entire article at this link. No paywall during the hurricane, open access.
Note: the highlighted links in the article lead to NY Times sources.
General note: health hazards in the flood zone are serious and on going. Be careful.
The devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey in Houston has brought a host of health questions from residents of the area and concerned relatives and friends. Here are some answers to common questions showing up in Google searches and on Facebook.
Yes. Some Texas public health officials expect an increase in gastrointestinal problems from bacteria breeding in stagnant floodwaters that can contain Escherichia coli (E. coli), Shigella, and Vibrio vulnificus. The latter, which is present in the Gulf of Mexico, can cause terrible infections that can lead to amputations. It is harmful if swallowed or if it comes into contact with a cut.
In a report issued one month after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it had counted 24 cases of hurricane-related wounds infected with Vibrio vulnificus or its relative, Vibrio parahaemolyticus, of which six were fatal.
If you have walked through floodwaters, it is best to throw out the clothes and shoes you wore, said Winifred J. Hamilton, director of the environmental health service at Baylor College of Medicine.
Dr. David E. Persse, Houston’s chief medical officer, does not anticipate any big outbreaks. “We didn’t get a lot of people with those after other storms,” he said, adding that “if you look at other floods, you don’t see a lot of hepatitis. In poor countries, you see cholera, but we don’t have it here.”
Floodwater can also carry disease. That's a serious problem in developing countries where cholera, typhoid or yellow fever are present, according to the World Health Organization. None of those diseases is common in Texas, so an outbreak is highly unlikely.
What may be more common will be bouts of diarrhea or other stomach problems if people come into contact with contaminated water or consume food or drink that has. Using items that have been submerged can also cause stomach problems. To cut down on infection, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reminds parents not to let children play with toys that have been in the water unless then have since been thoroughly washed.
Exposure to floodwater can increase risk for skin rashes, ear, nose and throat problems and conjunctivitis, but the World Health Organization says that none of these is epidemic-prone. Of 14 major floods between 1970 and 1994, the WHO said, the only major epidemic of diarrheal disease was in Sudan in 1980. American disease control is much more advanced than Sudan's. The other major risk is drinking contaminated water -- but again, US disease surveillance is likely to minimize that risk.
FROM CNN ONLINE: