Health threats from flooding

Eunice Police Chief Randy Fontenot, on Facebook, posted considerations for Eunice residents from T. Rick Irvin, PhD, JD., about environmental health management issues for Eunice during/after flooding.
1. All persons, especially children should stay out of the floodwater until its gone. The current standing floodwater is not the same thing as puddles of normal rain water and should be considered, from an environmental health standpoint, more like sewage drainage than lake/pond water. It now contains:
a) harmful bacteria (E. coli, etc);
b) harmful mold spores (which persist for years, decades)
c) hazardous chemicals including petroleum solvents (gas station runoff, pesticides)
d) hazardous materials (like asbestos and lead which are still in the soil from all the leaded gasoline we used thru the ‘70s).
2. Anyone with an open wound needs to stay out of the water. MRSA (staff) and other antibiotic resistant bacteria can preferentially grow in floodwaters. The same goes for the elderly.
3. While there is no Zika virus hazard in Eunice, there is a major potential hazard in Eunice from West Nile Virus which could take off from the floodwaters. Anyone working outdoors during the flooding should be using inspect spray.