Suspected disease outbreak (dysentery) causes shelter evacuation (Biloxi)

[Newsjock]

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/12553914.htm

By SUSANNAH A. NESMITH, WILLIAM DOUGLAS and MARTIN MERZER
Knight Ridder Newspapers

... On the sixth day of disaster and despair, an urgent new problem erupted: disease. A suspected outbreak of dysentery compelled authorities in Biloxi, Miss., to hurriedly evacuate hundreds of people from a shelter. Medical experts have warned of epidemics sweeping through crowded, unsanitary shelters.

Authorities along the coast also complained of continuing neglect by the federal government. Donovan Scruggs, the director of community development for Ocean Springs, just east of Biloxi, said his city still didn't have a FEMA contact.

"Outside assistance from FEMA has been pretty much nonexistent," he said.

more

[Horse with no Name]

1. Heavens to mercy

where did they evacuate these people to now?

[Catherine Vincent]

2. Sigh!

[Lindsay]

3. Dear Lord, these poor dear people!

And the list of Chimpy's crimes grows ever longer.

[BootinUp]

4. It was inevitable, the conditions these people are in.

Its fucking 3rd world!

[Cobalt Violet]

5. But who could have seen dysentery coming?

:sarcasm:

[AlCzervik]

7. thats the first to get there, it will get worse

[StellaBlue]

9. Also sarcasm

Since *co doesn't seem to have read the Constitution or any history book ever printed, why would you assume that they had any idea under what conditions people get dysentery?

They certainly wouldn't know it is common among soldiers in horrible combat conditions, since none of them have ever been in the military.

PUKE. PUKE. PUKE.

[leesa]

12. It's unknowable.

[bemildred]

6. Yippee! Cholera here we come.

Who knows what other goodies are in store for us.

[Olney Blue]

8. There will be more of these outbreaks.

:cry:

[HereSince1628]

10. There are many infectious diseases that cause diarhhea

There's a chance that it could be cholera, but it could also and more likely be something commom...

Nonetheless in a shelter where water is scarce and sanitation poor, an outbreak of diarhhea whatever the cause is dangerous.

Unfortunately where do they go when the shelter fails...another overcrowded failing shelter.

The nightmare just seems to not end.

[damntexdem]

15. Water-bourne diseases can be the most deadly.

Now think about all of that polluted water, with cadavers still floating in it. Even had they recovered all of the people, there would still be a lot of dead animals. Now consider all of the people still trapped in the disaster area, mostly but not uniquely in NO -- and the days they have gone without the necessities of life. We're brewing up our own bioweapon of mass destruction -- and aiming it at ourselves.

[CountAllVotes]

16. yes and the frail and the sick and

those with weakened or suppressed immune systems will be the first to die. We are looking at encephalitis, meningitis, tuberculosis, hepatitis, diphtheria and numerous other diseases that are out there that are highly transmittable.

The horror has yet to begin I fear.

:scared:

:kick:

[NYC]

28. So will the dehydrated.

These people are already dehydrated. Dysentery could kill them.

[mom cat]

17. Is the CDC around?

[WCGreen]

21. The Governor of LA didn't ask them in .....

:sarcasm:

[rainbow4321]

26. Someone was testing the NO waters on Saturday

per the police scnner, there was some guy asking for the supplies to test the water at "St Joe's", I think he said?

Also, they were giving the evacuees typhoid and tetanus shots before they shipped them out.

I hope the cities that accepted refugees have some good follow up care and tracking of community illnesses over the next few months...they shipped everyone out so quickly, you know none of them got any kind of medical screening.

[jwirr]

50. The crowds stood at evacuation sites for days. If there

had been any competence on the part of the feds the CDC would have been vaccinating everyone in the line as they waited. But our glorious leader wants to have his picture taken.

[me b zola]

30. Sorry, the CDC is a federal agency

And the federal government in bush* world is not interested in saving the lives of the people of NO.

[nookiemonster]

11. This is a goddamned shame.

The fucking CDC better be working overtime on this shit.

Fuck.

[Spazito]

13. I am beginning to wonder if those cruise ships FEMA has leased

are to be used as quarantine ships.

[Tin Man]

18. good observation - n/t

[jwirr]

52. With or Without Medical Care?

[damntexdem]

14. There's going to be a lot more disease than this.

And it will make dysentery look minor.

You don't mix dead bodies, polluted water, and tens of thousands left without the necessities of life without a real-life pandemic of some kind.

Ironically, the American Public Health Association was set to take about 10,000 public health professionals to New Orleans in November. Of course, that convention, and any others (e.g., about 5,000 for the Gerontological Society of America) will be going elsewhere now. But NO will stand as what happens when public health fails because disaster PLANNING and response fail.

Folks, our problems will not be limited to high gas prices and a damaged economy this fall.

[kodi]

19. just wait until the cholera epidemic hits.

.

[leveymg]

48. CDC: cholera and typhoid outbreak unlikely, but hepatitis, West Nile

Virus, tetanus and dysentery may be widespread.

[Sgent]

20. Since

Cholera takes 24-48 hrs to incubate, and is well controlled by Cipro, should we think about giving people in shelters a daily dose of Cipro for the next week if exposed to bad water...

Nah... that costs money.

:sarcasm:

[Renew Deal]

23. My money is on malaria.

:evilfrown:

[CountAllVotes]

47. yep malaria and also do not forget, the West Nile virus

also spread by mosquitos. Haven't seen nothing yet! :scared:

P.S. NO cure for malaria btw ... my late father had malaria from being in the tropics during WWII and he suffered with it until the day he died.

:kick:

[barackmyworld]

22. Is this the damn oregon trail???

[OzarkDem]

24. Apocolypse Bush

Looks like he's set loose the four horsemen: Disease, pestilence, famine and death.

This man has turned everything he touches into a disaster.

[Mabus]

25. Should have seen this one coming, remember Bush's reading list?

http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/08/17/bush.books.ap/

"The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History."

John Barry tells the story of the virus that killed more than 50 million people worldwide in 1918 and argues that the U.S. government ignored the wartime crisis and created conditions that allowed it to thrive.

He must have confused this reading selection with one of his PDBs. We know he's ignoring his wartime crisis and he probably thought he was also supposed to help create conditions for disease to spread.
:sarcasm:

[hayu_lol]

27. I'll go with malaria too...

Already had two crops of mosquitos, this year, probably at least two more major crops. Of course, if you dont have water and food, disease is sort of a non-starter.

[Mabus]

29. I was wondering about the mosquitos with all that water

It doesn't seem to take much rain to rev up the mosquito population. No food or water means lower resistance to diseases. This whole thing is so sickening.

[chalky]

31. It's all NAGIN & BLANCO's fault!!!

errrr...oops. Wrong state.

[Tinoire]

32. It was only a matter of time. Great. Effing great.

Thank you George Bush. Thanks an effing lot. Rot in hell.

[lala_rawraw]

33. Where the hell is the CDC? WTF????

[EFerrari]

34. They're hiding under their desks.

They've seen what happens to people who do their job.

[rainbow4321]

42. Makes ya wonder if they don't want us knowing...

the actual/potential diseases that are involved...if the accepting cities/communities had an inkling of these diseases, would they still willingly accept those evacuated? Especially since schools are waiving kids' vaccinations so they can get into the school system quicker and the families will be out and about.

All of them need to be tested for TB since if anyone in the crowded convention center or Dome had it, everyone was exposed to it for almost a week.

The thought of what could happen here is overwhelming. Everything that was absorbed by these people's bodies as they walked around the water and buildings that had body fluids/excrement, decomposed bodies, toxins, animal corpses.

Remember how quickly we heard from the EPA in the days after 9/11? They have been awfully quiet, also, just like the CDC.

[leveymg]

51. CDC had to correct HHS Secretary after he said 09/01 that cholera and typh

oid outbreak was a danger when he declated NOLA a national health emergency. CDC had to step in afterward and point out that Cholera and typhoid are rare in the US, and unless the germs are present, there will be no outbreak.

This isn't the last word on the subject, however. CDC is monitoring the water and evacuees are getting examined after they arrive in Houston.

I wouldn't be surprised if there were some nasty surprises to come.

[jwirr]

54. When the germs are present! Flood water alone carries in

a lot of new elements and stirs up old one. My family went through a minor flood in Iowa years ago and we had to get our shots updated because "wherever there is a flood there is a chance of typhoid".

[Olney Blue]

55. The CDC budget was severely flat-lined or cut in the budget this year.

My friends there are struggling to keep their labs going.

CDC should be on the frontlines of home security, but they are being cut off at the knees by this administration. We're at war, you know.

[daleo]

35. There will be a lot of disease

Tens of thousands of people went days without clean water. If they are still alive, that means they must have drank floodwater. Floodwater has been contaminated with human and animal corpses, sewage, and all manner of chemical wastes. This will kill many. And it is something that is very time sensitive - delaying rescue efforts by a day will condemn many to death. This is basic epidemiology.

[CountAllVotes]

44. right you are

and these diseases also happen to be HIGHLY CONTAGIOUS! DAMN THEM, DAMN THEM ALL!

IMPEACH THESE KLLERS BEFORE THE OFF THE LOT OF US!

:kick:

[leveymg]

53. The biggest cause of death had been dehydration.

Immediately because of lack of water, and over the next few weeks it will be dysentery and related diseases.

Epistemology is like a famine in the Third World.

[EFerrari]

36. Reading the same story in Miami Herald, two NO officers have

shot themselves. God.


http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12553914.htm

[JoFerret]

43. Read that in the NYTimes today too

- gives a context to what those on the ground trying to do their jobs - responsible, abandoned, overwhelmed with no support - have endured.

[spuddonna]

37. JMJ...n/t

[expatriot]

38. CNN: Shelter in Biloxi closed after 20 fall ill (dysentery!)

CNN: Shelter in Biloxi closed after 20 fall ill (dysentery!)

BILOXI, Mississippi (AP) -- -- Officials closed a shelter Saturday because more than 20 people there fell ill, and doctors believe the patients may have contracted dysentery from tainted water.

Another 20 people in the area also were treated for vomiting and diarrhea.

The shelter at a Biloxi school had been without water and power since Katrina hit Monday. About 400 people had been staying there, and doctors said some may have ignored warnings to stay away from water.

[patdem]

39. WOW! So their choice was die of thirst or die of dysentery?

It is their fault because they drank tainted water when they went without water since Monday? Who the fuck are these people who are suprised people will drink dirty water before they die of thirst?

[Zodiak]

41. I thought the same thing

Everyone was screaming for water at the Convention Center and the Astrodome, and I KNEW there was standing water everwhere to be had (not just the stuff with obvious poop and urine in it).

If you are dying of dehydration, you will drink. It takes tremendous resolve to not drink. Peple dying of thirst on boats WILL eventually drink the seawater if left to their own auspices. It is biology.

I can see this now "If I just take a few sips, my immune system will be strong enough to not get sick". Any easy rationalization that many would make.

[indepat]

40. How many time will this story play out?

[uncertainty1999]

45. Public Health Officials (everywhere): GET READY!! n/t

[CountAllVotes]

46. you got that right!

This whole thing is far from being over. The deaths so far are nothing compared to what is to come. Disease will spread all over the USA because of this.

:kick:

[DoYouEverWonder]

49. They always are non-existant in emergencies

Just most people don't know that yet. Besides they are too busy blocking aid rather then helping it get anywhere.