Originally published September 22 2005
Experts fear illness is spreading through hurricane shelters; may have killed four already
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Federal officials suspect that four Hurricane Katrina survivors may have died of bacterial infections while in hurricane shelters, and The Chicago Tribune reports that the trend may be spreading across hurricane shelters in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and other states.
Bacterial infections may have killed four survivors of Hurricane Katrina, federal officials said Tuesday while warning that other disease outbreaks also may be emerging.
The bacterium can lead to dangerous infections in people with open cuts and wounds who are exposed to floodwaters, said Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The CDC also is investigating a potential outbreak of norovirus, an infection infamous for causing stomach ailments on cruise ships, among evacuees housed in Houston's Astrodome, Skinner confirmed.
Those cases, along with a spate of diarrheal illnesses in Mississippi, are the first indications that infectious diseases may be beginning to hit people in emergency shelters across Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi and other states.
Getting medications to TB patients who found themselves uprooted by the hurricane is a priority, said Dr. Julie Gerberding, director of the CDC.
Out of 249 reported cases of TB in Louisiana last year, 55 patients were in New Orleans, according to the state's public health department.
Of even greater concern, however, is the potential that respiratory diseases such as the flu or diarrheal illnesses caused by agents such as E. coli bacteria or norovirus could hit the tens of thousands of evacuees living in shelters, Gerberding said.
In recent days, the Department of Health and Human Services has shipped 90,000 doses of tetanus vaccine, 22,000 doses of hepatitis A vaccine and 36,000 doses of hepatitis B vaccine to the Gulf Coast and other states where evacuees are gathering.
Many patients with chronic conditions such as diabetes or asthma are experiencing complications because of going without medication or food or being exposed to unfavorable environmental conditions, said Dr. Ed Geno, a family doctor working Tuesday at the large River Center shelter in Baton Rouge.
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