OT: article: respiratory illness rose in children after Katrina hit

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Respiratory Illness Rose in Children After Katrina Hit

By Spencer S. Hsu

Washington Post Staff Writer

Friday, May 9, 2008; A02

Hurricane Katrina provoked increased complaints to doctors of

pneumonia, bronchitis and other lower respiratory illnesses among

144 children studied in Mississippi, according to a report released

yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

But the researchers said they could not determine the reason.

They reported finding no difference in the patterns of visits to

doctors by children who lived in disaster housing provided by the

Federal Emergency Management Agency and those who did not. However,

they said the findings could not be generalized beyond the small

sample.

The study's limited conclusions did not resolve broader concerns

raised by health officials and pediatricians, who previously

reported heightened complaints of breathing problems among children

on the Gulf Coast after Katrina. Those experts had voiced suspicions

about a link to elevated levels of formaldehyde found in FEMA-

financed temporary housing.

" The issue of what, if any, effects did the hurricane -- and the

changes that occurred in its aftermath -- have on the children of

the Gulf Coast is one that we remain very much interested in, " said

Ed , state health officer for Mississippi.

" People whose children were not part of the study can't draw any

conclusions, positive or negative, from it, " he said. " It did not

answer whether exposure to indoor air contaminants, including

formaldehyde, has any effect on health. "

The study was based on a review of medical charts and interviews

with 144 children between 2 and 12 years old who were treated at

Hancock Medical Center and four physician practices in Hancock

County from August 2004 to August 2007. Two-thirds of the children

lived in FEMA housing.

However, the storm destroyed thousands of records at four of the

five facilities, and researchers were unable to determine how many

children lived in the county, the CDC reported. Researchers also

were unsure whether the results were skewed because the study

included only children who reported health problems before Katrina,

or because families increased visits after FEMA housing problems

were publicized.

" Basic medical information systems in Hancock County were severely

compromised . . . creating a particularly challenging environment

for performing a retrospective investigation, " according to a

summary of the 49-page CDC report. " The nature and . . . effects

resulting from these issues are unmeasured and remain unknown. "

The study said the total number of medical visits to the five

facilities by the children during the year before Katrina -- 411 --

was about the same as the number during the second year after the

storm -- 414. Researchers discounted the year after the storm,

because damage to medical facilities was severe and the community

was disrupted.

The study said the proportion of doctors' visits prompted by cold-

like symptoms fell from 63 percent to 52 percent, while the share of

bronchitis-like symptoms increased from 22 percent to 31 percent.

The shift was similar for children in both FEMA-supplied homes and

other dwellings.

A. McGeehin, director of the CDC division that oversaw the

report, said the findings could not be applied to other children

living in or out of FEMA housing along the Gulf Coast. " I don't want

this study generalized, " McGeehin said. " The numbers were very

small. "

" I really don't think it answers a lot, " said Perrin, a New

Orleans physician and past president of the Louisiana chapter of the

American Academy of Pediatrics.

Formaldehyde, a colorless gas released by glues used to make wood

products such as plywood, particle board, furniture and cabinets,

can cause nasal cancer and eye, nose and throat irritation, and can

worsen respiratory diseases such as asthma.

CDC testing found the chemical in high levels in 519 FEMA housing

units tested last year, 18 months after the first resident

complaints in March 2006. In follow-up tests, FEMA has continued to

find elevated levels in nearly 40 percent of 1,241 units tested.

CDC has recommended that all families leave trailers as soon as

possible, saying formaldehyde levels were found to be three times

higher than those in conventional homes, but about 25,000 trailers

and mobile homes remain occupied. FEMA has received 11,069 health

complaints since July 21 and relocated 4,052 families because of

formaldehyde problems.