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Disease Surveillance among Katrina Evacuees in Shelters - Use of a Web-Based Surveillance System during an Emergency Response

Description

On Monday, August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast. Outside of the affected areas of TX, LA, MS, and AL, GA received the largest number of these evacuees, approximately 125,000. By August 30, 2005, GA began receiving a total of approximately 1,300 NDMS patients from flights arriving at Dobbins Air Force Base. Within days, Georgia established 13 shelters for evacuees. Crowded shelters can increase the risk for communicable diseases. In addition, many evacuees left behind needed medications, thus increasing the risk for chronic disease exacerbations.

 

Objective

To assess public health needs among sheltered evacuees, the GA Department of Human Resources, Division of Public Health recommended daily surveillance.

Submitted by elamb on