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Expert: Infectious diseases outbreaks a major concern following hurricanes

Infection Control Monitor, October 21, 2005

Infectious diseases such as chicken pox, gastroenteritis, scabies, and influenza may spread quickly in disaster shelters, says an emergency physician at Johns Hopkins University Hospital in Baltimore.

Thomas Kirsch, MD, MPH, whose editorial The New England Journal of Medicine published this month, reports that natural disasters, such as the hurricanes that continue to batter the Southeast, can lead to infectious outbreaks.

It's most likely to happen when displaced citizens gather in crowded and poor sanitary conditions, such as in disaster shelters, where there is little clean water and an insufficient number of toilets.

People with chronic health conditions are at greater risk, Kirsch says.

Constant monitoring and surveillance are required to contain disease outbreaks, says Kirsch.

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