Surveillance for illness and injury after hurricane Katrina--New Orleans, Louisiana, September 8-25, 2005.

Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast on August 29, 2005, resulting in extensive structural damage and severe flooding from breached levees in and around New Orleans, Louisiana. The public health infrastructure of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals (LDHH) was damaged extensively, limiting surveillance for illnesses, injuries, and toxic exposures. On September 9, 2005, LDHH, CDC, and functioning emergency treatment resources (i.e., hospitals, disaster medical assistance teams, and military aid stations) established an active surveillance system to detect outbreaks of disease and characterize post-hurricane injuries and illnesses. As of September 25, the system had monitored 7,508 reports of health-related events at participating facilities. Trends observed in the data prompted investigations of respiratory and rash illnesses, but no major outbreaks of disease or hazardous environmental exposures were detected. These data also were used to identify post-hurricane injury patterns and to guide prevention messages to residents and relief workers. A natural disaster of the magnitude of Hurricane Katrina requires a sustained response and a detailed plan for return to pre-hurricane surveillance activities.

2005年8月29日，卡特里娜飓风袭击了墨西哥湾沿岸，导致路易斯安那州新奥尔良及其周边地区的堤坝决口，造成了大面积的结构性破坏和严重的洪水泛滥。路易斯安那州卫生与医院部门（LDHH）的公共卫生基础设施遭到严重破坏，限制了对疾病、伤害和毒物暴露的监测。2005年9月9日，LDHH、美国疾控中心以及仍在运转的紧急救治资源（即医院、灾难医疗援助团队和军队救助站）建立了一个主动监测系统，以检测疾病的暴发，并描述飓风后的伤害和疾病情况。截至9月25日，该系统已监测到参与机构的7508份健康相关事件报告。数据中观察到的趋势促使对呼吸道疾病和皮疹疾病进行了调查，但未检测到重大疾病暴发或危险的环境暴露情况。这些数据还被用于确定飓风后的伤害模式，并为居民和救援人员提供预防信息。像卡特里娜飓风这种规模的自然灾害需要持续的应对措施以及一份详细的恢复到飓风前监测活动的计划。