Updated | In the coming weeks and even months, residents of Houston and other parts of southern Texas hit hard by Hurricane Harvey will be faced with the public health disasters that can result from dirty floodwater and landslides.
Chris Van Deusen, a spokesperson for the Texas Department of State Health Services, says officials are already making efforts to address the emerging public health nightmare.
State and local officials recommend that people avoid drinking tap water, as health officials always do after a hurricane.
This means that drinking water has now come into contact with dirty floodwater.
Tosh also cautions the public about the risk of Legionnaires’ disease, which is caused by Legionella, bacteria found in in freshwater that easily spreads to human-made water systems during floods.
Legionnaires’ disease causes pneumonia-type symptoms as well as gastrointestinal illness and headaches.
Many bacterial illnesses resolve on their own, but some require antibiotics.
Officials in Houston are stocking temporary medical mobile units with such antibiotics as well as tetanus vaccines to treat and prevent bacterial infections, says Van Deusen.
Floodwaters also impact indoor environments and make houses especially hospitable to mold.
The state is also in the throes of mosquito season.