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<meta name="description" content="Houston and other parts of southeast Texas are in the midst of historic flooding from Harvey, now a tropical storm, with heavy rain still expected to batter the region in the coming days. ">

    <title>Waters Rising: How Harvey&#039;s Floods Endanger Health  </title>

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                                            <h1 class="h1">Waters Rising: How Harvey&#039;s Floods Endanger Health  </h1>
                <div class="byline">
                    By <span itemprop="author" class="author">Sara G. Miller, Staff Writer</span> |

                    <time datetime="August 28, 2017 05:22pm ET"
                          itemprop="datePublished"> August 28, 2017 05:22pm ET</time>
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                                            <figcaption class="fig-cap" id="nointelliTXT">
                    <div class="fig-desc">People walk down a flooded street in Houston, Texas on Aug. 28, 2017.</div>
                    <cite class="fig-credit">Credit: Joe Readle/Getty Images</cite>
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            <div class="article-content">
            <p>
	Houston and other parts of southeast Texas are in the midst of historic flooding from Harvey, now a tropical storm, with heavy rain still expected to batter the region in the coming days. How does flooding put people&#39;s health at risk?</p>
<p>
	The public health implications run deeper than the risk of injury and drowning during a flood, though these are a serious concern. [<a href="https://www.livescience.com/60247-hurricane-harvey-texas-photos.html">In Photos: Hurricane Harvey Takes Aim at Texas</a>]</p>
<p>
	Indeed, the <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/healthywater/emergency/extreme-weather/floods-standingwater.html">Centers for Disease Control and Prevention</a> (CDC) notes a slew of risks related to floodwater and standing water, including wound infections and the spread of infectious diseases and chemicals in the water.</p>
<p>
	Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventive medicine at Vanderbilt University School of Medicine in Tennessee, said that the <a href="https://www.livescience.com/19087-hidden-flood-health-risks.html">biggest concerns during and after a flood</a> are injuries, access to medical care and providing people with clean water to drink.</p>
<p>
	Safe water is more important than food, Schaffner told Live Science. &quot;Lack of food for a period of time is not a crisis,&quot; but lack of water can lead to serious dehydration in the very young and the very old, he said.</p>
<h2 class="nolinks">
	Crowded conditions</h2>
<p>
	People&#39;s health is at risk even after they&#39;ve been evacuated from a flood zone to relief centers.</p>
<p>
	When people are congregated in relief centers for long periods of time, it&#39;s not uncommon for illnesses to spread, Schaffner told Live Science. Respiratory viruses such as the <a href="https://www.livescience.com/56283-common-cold-rhinovirus-vaccine.html">common cold</a> can spread through shelters, and though it&#39;s still a bit early for <a href="https://www.livescience.com/60166-avoid-cold-flu-this-year.html">flu season</a>, Schaffner said he&#39;d still keep an eye out for cases of influenza.</p>
<p>
	Less common in the United States, Schaffner noted, is the spread of gastrointestinal illnesses after a flood. For example, although norovirus is &quot;very readily transmitted,&quot; there was only one outbreak of this virus in a relief center after <a href="https://www.livescience.com/22522-hurricane-katrina-facts.html">Hurricane Katrina</a>. Norovirus causes symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea.</p>
<p>
	It takes &quot;very few of those [<a href="https://www.livescience.com/59885-chipotle-outbreak-norovirus.html">norovirus</a>] viral particles to cause infection,&quot; Schaffner said. The virus, which often spreads on cruise ships, can be transmitted through water and food, and can also spread from person to person, he said. &quot;If it gets into a shelter, it&#39;s likely to spread to everybody in the shelter.&quot;</p>
<p>
	Fortunately, gastrointestinal diseases such as cholera have not played a major role in the U.S. after natural disasters, which is &quot;a testimony to the fact that we live in an environment with good sanitation,&quot; Schaffner said. If that good sanitation were to break down, however, you could see outbreaks of more troublesome illnesses.</p>
<p>
	And although <a href="https://www.livescience.com/57925-infectious-diseases-may-spread-with-climate-change.html">cholera</a> is not a concern, a type of bacteria related to cholera could pose a threat, Schaffner said. This bug, called <em>Vibrio vulnificus</em>, can live in the water in the Gulf of Mexico and can cause a nasty infection if it gets into an open wound, he said. Wounds exposed to seawater after a coastal flooding disaster should be washed with soap and water as soon as possible, according to the CDC.</p>
<p>
	Another public health threat from hurricanes and <a href="https://www.livescience.com/23913-flood-facts.html">flooding</a> is moving people away from their usual sources of medical care.</p>
<p>
	People with diabetes or seizures may have left their medications at home, for example, Schaffner said. And events such as giving birth or having a heart attack can be more difficult to manage, because people are removed from their medical care resources, he said. &nbsp;</p>
<h2 class="nolinks">
	After the flood</h2>
<p>
	Even after the <a href="https://www.livescience.com/55786-science-of-historic-louisiana-flooding.html">floodwaters</a> recede, threats to health will remain, Schaffner said.</p>
<p>
	Standing water in puddles, small receptacles and gutters can provide &quot;an ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes,&quot; Schaffner said. And when you get mosquitos, you have to worry about mosquito-borne illnesses, including <a href="https://www.livescience.com/51630-west-nile-virus-drought.html">West Nile virus</a> and <a href="https://www.livescience.com/53510-zika-virus.html">Zika virus</a>. Fortunately, Houston and Harris County &mdash; another area affected by the storm &mdash; have excellent mosquito control under normal circumstances, Schaffner added.</p>
<p>
	Once things get back to normal, &quot;I would think that they would start monitoring [mosquito] populations and using their mosquito abatement techniques,&quot; he said.</p>
<p>
	Another concern after a flood is mold, but Schaffner noted that in the vast majority of cases, mold is an annoyance and a nuisance rather than a source of illness. &quot;Mold-related illness is really quite rare,&quot; he said.</p>
<p>
	<em>Originally published on <a href="https://www.livescience.com/60253-hurricane-harvey-flood-public-health.html">Live Science</a>.</em></p>

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