Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Public health surveillance response following the southern Alberta floods, 2013

  • Quantitative Research
  • Published:
Canadian Journal of Public Health Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: In June of 201 3, southern Alberta underwent flooding that affected approximately 100,000 people. We describe the process put in place for public health surveillance and assessment of the impacts on health.

METHODS: Public health surveillance was implemented for the six-week period after the flood to detect anticipated health events, including injuries, mental health problems and infectious diseases. Data sources were emergency departments (EDs) for presenting complaints, public health data on the post-exposure administration of tetanus vaccine/immunoglobulin, administrative data on prescription drugs, and reportable diseases.

RESULTS: An increase in injuries was detected through ED visits among Calgary residents (rate ratio [RR] 1.28, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.14–1.43) and was supported by a 75% increase in the average weekly administration of post-exposure prophylaxis against tetanus. Mental health impacts in High River residents were observed among females through a 1.64-fold (95% CI: 1.11–2.43) and 2.32-fold (95% CI: 1.45–3.70) increase in new prescriptions for anti-anxiety medication and sleep aids respectively. An increase in sexual assaults presenting to EDs (RR 3.18, 95% CI: 1.29–7.84) was observed among Calgary residents. No increases in infectious gastrointestinal disease or respiratory illness were identified. Timely identification and communication of surveillance alerts allowed for messaging around the use of personal protective equipment and precautions for personal safety.

CONCLUSION: Existing data sources were used for surveillance following an emergency situation. The information produced, though limited, was sufficiently timely to inform public health decision-making.

Résumé

OBJECTIF: En juin 201 3, des inondations ont touché environ 100 000 personnes dans le Sud de l’Alberta. Nous décrivons le processus mis en place pour surveiller la santé publique et évaluer les impacts sur la santé.

MÉTHODE: Une surveillance de la santé publique a été mise en œuvre pendant les six semaines qui ont suivi les inondations afin de détecter les épisodes morbides prévus: traumatismes, troubles de santé mentale et maladies infectieuses. Les sources de données étaient les présentations aux services d’urgence (SU), les données de santé publique sur l’administration post-exposition du vaccin antitétanique/de l’immunoglobuline, les données administratives sur les médicaments sur ordonnance, ainsi que les maladies à déclaration obligatoire.

RÉSULTATS: On a détecté une hausse des traumatismes chez les résidents de Calgary en examinant les visites aux SU (rapport de taux [RT] 1,28, intervalle de confiance de 95 % [IC]: 1,14–1,43); ce résultat était appuyé par une hausse de 75 % de l’administration hebdomadaire moyenne de la prophylaxie post-exposition contre le tétanos. Des effets sur la santé mentale des résidents de High River ont été observés chez les femmes d’après la multiplication par 1,64 (IC de 95 %: 1,11–2,43) et par 2,32 (IC de 95 %: 1,45–3,70) des nouvelles ordonnances de médicaments contre l’anxiété et de somnifères, respectivement. Une hausse des agressions sexuelles chez les personnes se présentant aux SU (RT 3,18, IC de 95 %: 1,29–7,84) a été observée chez les résidents de Calgary. Aucune hausse des maladies gastrointestinales infectieuses ni des maladies respiratoires n’a été constatée. L’identification rapide et la communication des alertes de surveillance ont permis d’émettre des messages sur l’utilisation d’équipement de protection individuelle et sur les précautions à prendre pour sa sécurité personnelle.

CONCLUSION: On a utilisé des sources de données existantes pour assurer la surveillance après une situation d’urgence. L’information produite, bien que limitée, a été suffisamment rapide pour éclairer la prise de décisions de santé publique. Il faudrait pousser la recherche pour confirmer la validité des résultats obtenus et l’utilité des interventions connexes.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Government of Alberta. Southern Alberta 2013 Floods: The Provincial Recovery Framework, 2013. Available at: http://alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=344769171D065-C5D7-28D8-E02995572F86EB0A (Accessed March 20, 2014).

    Google Scholar 

  2. Government of Alberta. First Residents of High River Go Home, 2013. Available at: http://alberta.ca/release.cfm?xID=344769171D065-C5D7-28D8-E02995572F86EB0A (Accessed February 19, 2014).

    Google Scholar 

  3. World Health Organization (WHO)–Europe. In: Menne B, Murray V (Eds.), Floods in the WHO European Region: Health Effects and Their Prevention. Denmark: WHO Regional Office for Europe, 2013. Available at: http://www.euro.who.int/_data/assets/pdf_file/0020/189020/e96853.pdf (Accessed March 20, 2014).

  4. Cretikos MA, Merritt TD, Main K, Eastwood K, Winn L, Moran L, et al. Mitigating the health impacts of a natural disaster–the June 2007 long-weekend storm in the Hunter region of New South Wales. Med J Aust 2007;187(11):670–73. PMID: 18072915.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Howe E, Victor D, Price EG. Chief complaints, diagnoses, and medications prescribed seven weeks post-Katrina in New Orleans. Prehosp Disaster Med 2008;23(1):41–47. PMID: 18491660.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  6. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Carbon monoxide exposures after Hurricane Ike–Texas, September 2008. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2009;58(31):845–49. PMID: 19680219. Available at: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5831a1.htm (Accessed March 20, 2014).

    Google Scholar 

  7. NIOSH. Update: NIOSH Warns of Hazards of Flood Cleanup Work. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1994. Available at: www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/94-123/ (Accessed February 19, 2014).

    Google Scholar 

  8. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Morbidity surveillance following the Midwest Flood–Missouri, 1993. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 1993; 42(41):797–98. PMID: 8411590. Available at: www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00022056.htm (Accessed October 21, 2015).

    Google Scholar 

  9. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR). Infectious disease and dermatologic conditions in evacuees and rescue workers after Hurricane Katrina–multiple states, August-September, 2005. Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2005;54(38):961–64. PMID: 16195696. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5438a6.htm (Accessed March 20, 2014).

    Google Scholar 

  10. Zhong S, Clark M, Hou XY, Zang YL, Fitzgerald G. 2010–2011 Queensland floods: Using Haddon’s Matrix to define and categorise public safety strategies. Emerg Med Australas 2013;25(4):345–52. PMID: 23911026. doi: 10.1111/1742-6723.12097.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Murray V, Caldin H, Amlôt R, Stanke C, Lock S, Rowlatt H, et al. The Effects of Flooding on Mental Health. London: Health Protection Agency, 2011. Available at: www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1317131767423 (Accessed March 20, 2014).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Paranjothy S, Gallacher J, Amlôt R, Rubin GJ, Page L, Baxter T, et al. Psychosocial impact of the summer 2007 floods in England. BMC Public Health 2011;11(145). PMID: 21371296. doi: 10.1186/1471-2458-11-145.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Alderman K, Turner LR, Tong S. Assessment of the health impacts of the 2011 summer floods in Brisbane. Disaster Med Public Health Prep 2013;7(4):380–86. PMID: 24229521. doi: 10.1017/dmp.2013.42.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Trifirò G, Italiano D, Alibrandi A, Sini G, Ferrajolo C, Capuano A, et al. Effects of L’Aquila earthquake on the prescribing pattern of antidepressant and antipsychotic drugs. Int J Clin Pharm 2013;35(6):1053–62. PMID: 24045997. doi: 10.1007/S11096-013-9822-8.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Rossi A, Maggio R, Riccardi I, Allegrini F, Stratta P. A quantitative analysis of antidepressant and antipsychotic prescriptions following an earthquake in Italy. J Trauma Stress 2011;24(1):129–32. PMID: 21351173. doi: 10.1002/jts.20607.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Usher K, Brown LH, Buettner P, Glass B, Boon H, West C, et al. Rate of prescription of antidepressant and anxiolytic drugs after Cyclone Yasi in North Queensland. Prehosp Disaster Med 2012;27(6):519–23. PMID: 23009700. doi: 10.1017/S1049023X12001392.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Temple JR, van den Berg P, Thomas JF, Northcutt J, Thomas C, Freeman DH. Teen dating violence and substance use following a natural disaster: Does evacuation status matter? Am J Disaster Med 2011;6(4):201–6. PMID: 22010597. doi: 10.5055/ajdm.2011.0059

    Article  Google Scholar 

  18. Harville EW, Taylor CA, Testai H, Xiong X, Buekens P. Experience of Hurricane Katrina and reported intimate partner violence. J Interpers Violence 2011;26(4):833–45. PMID: 20495099. doi: 10.1177/0886260510365861.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevent Illness after a Disaster. Atlanta: CDC, 2011. Available at: http://emergency.cdc.gov/disasters/disease/facts.asp (Accessed October 21, 2015).

    Google Scholar 

  20. Fan S, Blair C, Brown A, Gabos S, Honish L, Hughes T, et al. A multi-function public health surveillance system and the lessons learned in its development: The Alberta Real Time Syndromic Surveillance Net. Can J Public Health 2010; 101(6):454–58. PMID: 21370780.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Government of Alberta. Statement from Alberta’s Chief Medical Officer of Health on Boil Water Orders in Flooded Communities. Edmonton, AB: Government of Alberta, 2013. Available at: http://www.health.alberta.ca/newsroom/news-2013-06-21-TopDoc-water.html (Accessed February 19, 2014).

    Google Scholar 

  22. ProvLab Laboratory Informatics & Surveillance Team. Provincial Laboratory Weekly Flood Report. Edmonton, Provincial Laboratory for Public Health. July 17, 2013.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Dormer D. Thousands of volunteers descend on Calgary’s Mission district to help with flood cleanup. Calgary Sun. 29 June 2013. Available at: www.calgarysun.com/2013/06/29/thousands-of-volunteers-descend-on-calgarys-mission-district-to-help-with-flood-cleanup (Accessed January 13, 2014).

    Google Scholar 

  24. Alberta Health Services. Staying Safe While Pumping Flood Waters. Calgary: AHS, 2013. Available at: http://www.albertahealthservices.ca/8678.asp (Accessed March 19, 2014).

    Google Scholar 

  25. City of Calgary. State of Local Emergency–Update 5 a.m., Monday, June 24, 2013. Available at: http://newsroom.calgary.ca/news/state-of-local-emergency-update-247019 (Accessed March 19, 2014).

    Google Scholar 

  26. National Collaborating Centre for Mental Health. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: The Management of PTSD in Adults and Children in Primary and Secondary Care. Leicester: Gaskell, 2005. Available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21834189 (Accessed March 26, 2014).

    Google Scholar 

  27. Alberta Health Services. Daily Surveillance Tracking Update. Edmonton, AHS, 2013.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Alberta Ministry of Health, 23rd Floor, ATB Place, 10025 Jasper Avenue NW, Edmonton, AB, T5J 1S6, Canada

    Vanita Sahni MHSc (Surveillance and Assessment), Allison N. Scott MSc, Marie Beliveau MSc, Marie Varughese MSc, Douglas C. Dover MSc & James Talbot MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Vanita Sahni MHSc
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Allison N. Scott MSc
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Marie Beliveau MSc
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Marie Varughese MSc
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Douglas C. Dover MSc
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. James Talbot MD, PhD
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Vanita Sahni MHSc.

Additional information

Conflict of Interest: None to declare.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Sahni, V., Scott, A.N., Beliveau, M. et al. Public health surveillance response following the southern Alberta floods, 2013. Can J Public Health 107, e142–e148 (2016). https://doi.org/10.17269/cjph.107.5188

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.17269/cjph.107.5188

Key words

Mots clés

Search

Navigation