Natural Disasters

Bioterrorism Preparedness | Pandemic Influenza |Pandemic Plans | Natural Disasters | Hurricane Katrina | Information for Providers and Victims

General Healthcare Precautions after a Disaster

Standard Precautions

Information for Healthcare Professionals 

CDC's general line: 1 (800) CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636)  

AHRQ – Providing Mass Medical Care with Scarce Resources: A Community Planning Guide: A guide (available in PDF format on the website) written by experts at DHHS and AHRQ to provide community planners and planners at institutional, state, and federal levels with information on planning and responding to mass casualty events (MCE). 

California Wildfires

Currently Affected Areas

American Red Cross Response

CDC - Air Quality Information

CDC - Information for Responders

Emergency Response Resources

Smoke Fact Sheet

Wound Care

Public Service Announcements and Podcasts

Infection Control in Hurricane Affected Areas

Practical Guidelines for Infection Control in Healthcare Facilities

Infection Control Admissions Screening Tool

Hand Hygiene in Emergency Situations

Cleaning and Sanitizing with Bleach after an Emergency

MMWR Follow-Up

MMWR highlight of the public health response to the hurricanes: two special issues.

Healthcare in Shelters

Healthcare of Homeless Persons

Infection Control for Shelters

Immunizations

Interim Immunization Recommendations for those Displaced by Hurricane Katrina; Emergency Responders

Power Outages and Vaccine Storage

LINKS - computerized immunization registries for healthcare professionals. Contact CDC’s Gary Urquhart; (404) 639-8277.

Care of Patients

Medical intake assessment form and triage of evacuees entering a shelter facility or evacuation center

Keep it with You (KIWY) Personal Medical Information Form

Specific Diseases

(guidelines, controlling the spread of infections, FAQs)

Acute Diarrhea

Diarrhea and/or Vomiting 

Fever with poorly localized signs: Adenoviruses; Arboviral disease or mosquito-borne disease (West Nile virus disease, St. Louis encephalitis virus disease); Enteroviruses (including coxsackie and echoviruses); Leptospirosis; Mumps

Legionellosis

MRSA

Non-O1 and Non-O139 Vibrio cholerae 

Non-Polio Enterovirus 

Infection Control for Peritoneal Dialysis (PD) Patients

Rashes: Arboviral disease or mosquito- borne disease (West Nile virus disease, St. Louis encephalitis virus disease); Enterovirus (e.g., hand-foot-and-mouth disease); Group A streptococcus; Meningococcal disease; Measles; Rubella; Scabies; Ringworm (tinea pedis, tinea cruris, tinea corporis)

Respiratory Illness 

Rotavirus 

Shigellosis 

Tetanus Prevention 

Tuberculosis

Vibrio parahaemolyticus 

Vibrio vulnificus 

Recommendations for Persons Undergoing Blood Glucose Monitoring in Evacuation Centers

Perspectives

Infection Control Today Dr. Margaret Price at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston, TX, on the infection control challenges as her hospital received Hurricane Katrina evacuees.

Past President Joseph Dalovisio, MD, of New Orleans (Sept. IDSA News) "Fortunately, to date there have been no significant ID problems. We have seen some patients with dermatitis and cellulitis related to water immersion and skin injury. There has been an outbreak of gastroenteritis in a shelter, which is likely to be caused by norovirus. A handful of Vibrio vulnificus cases have been reported in the Gulf coast, but this always occurs during the summer. Fears of West Nile infection have surfaced with the flooding and breakdown in mosquito control programs, so we have advised liberal use of insect repellants. Spraying for mosquitoes resumed today (September 12). There have been a significant number of patients, particularly first responders, with stress-related psychiatric problems. We have had two New Orleans policemen commit suicide, and there is concern that this may be the "tip of the iceberg" with regard to the emotional stress the affected population has suffered. The CDC has been on site helping assess the situation from an infectious and environmental standpoint." 

Geoff Hogg, FRACP, FRCPA, Director MDU PHL: "In Aceh post tsunami, we found the most important things were awareness (i.e. remembering not to abandon first principles), and lab support to ensure isolates made and tested, even when clin. management alone may have coped, as unexpected (but avoidable) IC problems were thus identified by AMR patterns and typing."

WHO Conference on the Health Aspects of the Tsunami Disaster in Asia, Phuket, Thailand, May 4-6, 2005. Slides and text of speakers reviewing the handling of the health crisis following the tsunami, submitted by Marion A. Kainer, MD, MPH, Tennessee Department of Health 

Water/Food Sanitation; Environment

Emergency Disinfection of Drinking Water 

Safe Foods after a Disaster 

Cleaning and Remediation of Flood-Contaminated HVAC Systems (interim recommendations)

Working in Hot Environments

Reopening shuttered hospitals 

Mold

Mold 

Mold Remediation in Schools and Commercial Buildings