title: Hospital infection prevention and control issues relevant to extensive floods.
abstract: The devastating clinical and economic implications of floods exemplify the need for effective global infection prevention and control (IPC) strategies for natural disasters. Reopening of hospitals after excessive flooding requires a balance between meeting the medical needs of the surrounding communities and restoration of a safe hospital environment. Postflood hospital preparedness plans are a key issue for infection control epidemiologists, healthcare providers, patients, and hospital administrators. We provide recent IPC experiences related to reopening of a hospital after extensive black-water floods necessitated hospital closures in Thailand and the United States. These experiences provide a foundation for the future design, execution, and analysis of black-water flood preparedness plans by IPC stakeholders.
authors.affiliation: Division of Infectious Diseases, Thammasat University Hospital, Pratumthani, Thailand, 12120. anapisarn@yahoo.com
authors.forename: Anucha
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Apisarnthanarak
authors.forename: Linda M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Mundy
authors.forename: Thana
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Khawcharoenporn
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Glen Mayhall
mesh_terms: D003428:Cross Infection / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003666:Decontamination / Q000379:methods*; D055868:Floods; D006271:Health Facility Closure; D006761:Hospitals; D006801:Humans; D013785:Thailand; D014481:United States