Recovery Raises Health Concerns

As New York continues to deal with the aftermath of its terrorist catastrophe, health and police officials are stepping up efforts to protect the living and deal with the dead. Friday's cool rains, which could promote decay, raised concerns about the status of the bodies and the safety of rescuers. "I don't think it's an urgent public health issue as much as it is a search and recovery issue," New York City Health Commissioner Neal Cohen said. "I know it impacts on the time it will take to execute recovery."

Concerns about infectious diseases -- both in terms of rotting bodies and potential bioterrorism -- have led health officials to create an aggressive citywide disease surveillance net. And fears that radiation from medical equipment may be in the rubble have prompted special surveys around ground zero. The city health department and the medical examiner's office have been supplemented with federal and regional staff. On Friday, 34 CDC Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS) officers were sent to New York to help track city disease trends. An EIS officer will be posted in each major hospital in the city. They are looking particularly for signs of clusters of encephalitis, pneumonia, respiratory disease and acute neurological problems.

Currently, there is no evidence of bioterrorism, said Dr. Marcelle Layton, though her surveillance team remains on alert for such agents as anthrax, smallpox and plague. Dr. Patrick Meehan, director of CDC's National Center for Environmental Health, arrived Friday to assist Layton. He said the key disease concerns for rescue workers are blood-borne pathogens, such as hepatitis and HIV. To prevent exposure, Meehan said, all rescue workers should wear latex gloves, goggles and hepafilter masks.

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