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AJPH First Look, published online ahead of print Apr 5, 2007
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April 2007, Vol 97, No. Supplement_1 | American Journal of Public Health S130-S135
© 2007 American Public Health Association
DOI: 10.2105/AJPH.2006.094441

RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

Household Water Disinfection in Hurricane-Affected Communities of Louisiana: Implications for Disaster Preparedness for the General Public

Pavani K. Ram, MD, Elizabeth Blanton, MPH, Debra Klinghoffer, DrPH, Mary Platek, RD, Janet Piper, BS, Susanne Straif-Bourgeois, PhD, MPH, Matthew R. Bonner, PhD, MPH and Eric D. Mintz, MD, MPH

Pavani K. Ram, Elizabeth Blanton, and Eric D. Mintz are with the Diarrheal Diseases Epidemiology Team, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Ga. Pavani K. Ram, Mary Platek, and Matthew R. Bonner are also with the Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, University at Buffalo, Buffalo, NY. Debra Klinghoffer, Janet Piper, and Susanne Straif-Bourgeois are with the Office of Public Health, Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, Lake Charles and New Orleans, La.

Correspondence: Requests for reprints should be sent to Pavani K. Ram, Department of Social and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Health Professions, University at Buffalo, 3435 Main St, Room 270 Farber Hall, Buffalo, NY 14214 (e-mail: pkram{at}buffalo.edu).

Objectives. Thousands of Louisiana residents were asked to boil water because of widespread disruptions in electricity and natural gas services after Hurricane Rita. We sought to assess awareness of boil water orders and familiarity with household water disinfection techniques other than boiling.

Methods. We conducted a cross-sectional survey in randomly selected mobile home communities in Louisiana.

Results. We interviewed 196 respondents from 8 communities, which had boil water orders instituted. Of 97 who were home while communities were still under orders to boil water, 30 (31%) were aware of the orders and, of those, 24 (80%) said the orders were active while they were living at home; of the 24, 10 (42%) reported boiling water. Overall, 163 (83%) respondents were aware of a method of water disinfection at the household level: boiling (78%), chlorination (27%), and filtration (25%); 87% had a container of chlorine bleach at home.

Conclusions. Few hurricane-affected respondents were aware of boil water orders and of alternate water disinfection techniques. Most had access to chlorine and could have practiced household chlorination if disruption in natural gas and electricity made boiling impossible.






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