Serious health threats follow Katrina

What's left of Hurricane Katrina has moved well inland, but it has left hospitals in New Orleans and Southern Mississippi badly damaged. Tulane Medical Center was forced to evacuate patients to an increasingly squalid Louisiana Superdome, while the American Red Cross has launched what is believed to be the largest relief effort operation in its history, mobilizing thousands of volunteers across the country and putting out a call for disaster relief. The Centers for Disease Control said it is monitoring the possible public health threat posed by contaminated flood waters.

- see this story from The New York Times
- see this updating blog entry from WDSU

PLUS: FEMA officials hoping to avoid criticism earned in past disasters, scrambled to mobilize medical teams and smaller "rapid strike" physician teams. Story