Katrina’s Leaves Wounds Hard to Heal
I evacuated New Orleans thinking I was taking a four-day trip until the storm blew over. Residents of the Crescent City have left during the hurricane season many times before, usually coming back to their neighborhoods as they left them. I never thought this would, as locals say, "be the one". But it was.
Now, with over a million people displaced, homeless, or deceased, the country must look inward and find ways to help those who have been left destitute. The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is coordinating medical assistance and calling for physicians, nurses, environmental health specialists, psychiatrists and social workers to provide urgently needed services.
The aftermath of Katrina ushered in a myriad of health threats to the Gulf region. Infectious disease is a central public health concern; standing water created by floods in New Orleans and elsewhere will breed mosquitos that serve as transmission vectors. West Nile virus, enteroviruses, and waterborne parasitic illnesses such as E. coli (confirmed present in New Orleans floodwater) are fueled by failed sewage systems and bacteria proliferation. Typhoid and cholera outbreaks are feared; however the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention notes neither disease is endemic to the Gulf States, making an outbreak unlikely. Decaying bodies, which may reach thousands in New Orleans alone, are a more gruesome concern.