For all BC volunteers who attended to Hurricane Katrina please be aware of the following health related information.

BALTIMORE (March 4, 2006) —
Responders are weighing whether post-disaster illnesses need to be better tracked.

If people get sick after visiting or returning to a disaster area, health officials recommend they see their doctor, then report the illness to their local or state health department.

In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Boe reported that several United Methodist volunteers returning from the Gulf Coast contracted cellulitis, a bacterial infection of the skin and underlying tissues. "Some cases have been severe," he said.

The two main causes of cellulitis are strep - the same agent that causes strep throat - and staphylococcus.

"A recent problem has been the development of methicillin resistant staph, or MRSA, which causes a much more serious infection and is very difficult to treat," explained Boe. "Because of this possibility, prompt treatment is required, urgent treatment if spreading rapidly or associated with fever."

MRSA is a growing problem that's not limited to disaster-stricken areas. But post-hurricane conditions have increased the risk of contracting MRSA, said Boe.

"These people scatter to the four winds when they leave and get seen by local physicians," he said. "Unless they get a heads up, they're not going to report these things."

Relief workers exposed to toxins early on might not show symptoms for weeks, months or longer, she said. "Eventually probably something will come about. I don't know what that something will be. I fear greatly for people who have been working down there, especially people who were working longer shifts that lengthened their exposure."

Boe maintains that the risks shouldn't prevent people from volunteering in hurricane-affected areas. "We've taken far worse risks," he said. "Just be careful and take precautions. My sense is the real risk is very low. Most people are doing fine. That's the bottom line."

But for one Arkansas man, symptoms appeared almost immediately. Jesse Piearcy said he has been sick since he worked at the post-hurricane debris piles in Mississippi - and he feels sure he can't be alone.

In September 2005, Piearcy's company, RMI, was subcontracted by Ashbritt - a contractor for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - to assist with debris cleanup near Pascagoula, Mississippi. He stayed for nearly three months.

When he returned home to Springdale - in northwest Arkansas - he developed a rash on his leg that wouldn't respond to several prescription medications. Then he became acutely ill, and was hospitalized for several days. Piearcy's doctors said they have traced a bacterial infection linked to certain areas in Mississippi.

For Piearcy, 36, that began a string of health problems for someone who had rarely gotten sick. "I now have ulcerative colitis," he said. "Then I found out I have diabetes. My liver functions were so high the doctors say it looks as if I was exposed to a lot of pesticides at some point."

Whatever the tracking systems, experts agreed that the risk would be lower in the first place if volunteers, disaster recovery workers and residents received better pre-disaster training.

In December, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that flooded areas were generally safe to return to. State and federal officials have not said there is no danger whatsoever, but said the threat appears consistent with toxic risks typical of many urban areas.

http://www.disasternews.net/news/news.php?articleid=3075