Emerging Disease Syndromic Surveillance for Hurricane Katrina Evacuees Seeking Shelter in Houston's Astrodome and Reliant Park Complex

• Published in: Public health reports (1974) Vol. 124; no. 3; pp. 364 - 371
• Main Authors: Murray, Kristy O., Kilborn, Cindy, desVignes-Kendrick, Mary, Koers, Erin, Page, Valda, Selwyn, Beatrice J., Shah, Umair A., Palacio, Herminia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Los Angeles, CA Association of Schools of Public Health 01-05-2009; SAGE Publications; SAGE PUBLICATIONS, INC
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adult; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child, Preschool; Communicable diseases; Communicable Diseases, Emerging - epidemiology; Cots; Cyclonic Storms; Diarrhea; Disasters; Disease Outbreaks; Disease transmission; Gastroenteritis; Gastroenteritis - epidemiology; Houston, Texas; Humans; Hurricanes; Infant; Infectious diseases; Medical sciences; Middle Aged; Miscellaneous; New Orleans; Norovirus; Population Surveillance; PRACTICE; Public health; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Refugees; Safety Management; Surveillance; Surveillance of citizens; Syndrome; Texas - epidemiology; Vomiting; Gulf of Mexico; New Orleans; Texas; Houston Texas; Shelter; Surveillance; Emerging disease; Public health; Complexity
• ISSN: 0033-3549; 1468-2877
• DOI: 10.1177/003335490912400304

Transmission of infectious diseases became an immediate public health concern when approximately 27,000 New Orleans-area residents evacuated to Houston's Astrodome and Reliant Park Complex following Hurricane Katrina. This article presents a surveillance system that was rapidly developed and implemented for daily tracking of various symptoms in the evacuee population in the Astrodome "megashelter." This system successfully confirmed an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis and became a critical tool in monitoring the course of this outbreak.