The American Red Cross says more than 175 flood victims are staying at six shelters in Louisiana. The Red Cross said in a news release Wednesday its volunteers also have made more than 2,200 health-related evaluations.
The Louisiana Office of Public Health has given more than 300 tetanus vaccinations in Caddo and Bossier parishes in recent days. As residents affected by flooding reenter their homes and begin cleaning up, state health workers are urging people to get a tetanus booster if they haven’t had one in the past decade. Louisiana’s medical director for community preparedness Dr. Frank Welch says disease prevention is the goal.
“When people return to flooded or damaged buildings, and they are starting to clean up, there’s a lot of debris there and there’s a risk of getting a puncture wound, and that’s where tetanus lives. It lives in the soil that is stirred up a little bit by floodwaters and then it gets on things you are cleaning up,” Welch said.
The Department of Health and Hospitals has a long history of providing tetanus shots following disasters that strike the state, according to Welch. He recommends homeowners exercise caution and be deliberate as they gut their homes.
“Make sure you have enough lighting when you’re cleaning something up, and go slowly. Just realize that this is going to take a while, and doing it in a rush manner may just expose you to things you don’t want to be exposed to -- yard chemicals, paint, and electricity, obviously,” Welch said.
The health department will offer free tetanus and flu shots Wednesday, March 23, in Logansport from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the DeSoto Fire District 1 Central Station. The tetanus clinic will be offered Thursday, March 24, in Stonewall at the DeSoto Fire District 3 Central Station, again from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Welch says clinics in Natchitoches and Webster parishes are forthcoming.
