title: Internet-based morbidity and mortality surveillance among Hurricane Katrina evacuees in Georgia.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The Internet has revolutionized the way public health surveillance is conducted. Georgia has used it for notifiable disease reporting, electronic outbreak management, and early event detection. We used it in our public health response to the 125,000 Hurricane Katrina evacuees who came to Georgia.
  
  
  METHODS
  We developed Internet-based surveillance forms for evacuation shelters and an Internet-based death registry. District epidemiologists, hospital-based physicians, and medical examiners/coroners electronically completed the forms. We analyzed these data and data from emergency departments used by the evacuees.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Shelter residents and patients who visited emergency departments reported primarily chronic diseases. Among 33 evacuee deaths, only 2 were from infectious diseases, and 1 was indirectly related to the hurricane.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The Internet was essential to collect health data from multiple locations, by many different people, and for multiple types of health encounters during Georgia's Hurricane Katrina public health response.
authors.affiliation: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1600 Clifton Rd, MS E97, Atlanta, GA 30333, USA. scookson@cdc.gov
authors.forename: Susan T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Cookson
authors.forename: Karl
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Soetebier
authors.forename: Erin L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Murray
authors.forename: Geroncio C
authors.initials: GC
authors.lastname: Fajardo
authors.forename: Randy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Hanzlick
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Cowell
authors.forename: Cherie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Drenzek
mesh_terms: D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D055867:Cyclonic Storms; D004190:Disasters; D005845:Georgia; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet / Q000458:organization & administration*; D008145:Louisiana; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends*; D011159:Population Surveillance / Q000379:methods*; D011635:Public Health Administration / Q000379:methods*; D012036:Refugees
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