Newswise — With the death toll estimated in the thousands and New Orleans in a state of emergency, Hurricane Katrina's devastation will continue to have an enormous impact on the Deep South and the nation. The University of Wisconsin-Madison has experts who can offer useful perspectives to media on health, economic, psychological and rebuilding issues.
The following faculty are available to reporters:
- Marv Birnbaum, professor of medicine and president, World Association of Disaster and Emergency Medicine (WADEM). Birnbaum's leadership with WADEM is helping establish international standards for medical responses during disasters.
The organization and its corresponding journal, "Prehospital and Disaster Medicine," is dedicated to completing detailed reviews of past disaster responses and disseminating recommendations for improvement. The journal's current issue focuses on a major review of the health response to the December 2004 Pacific tsunami. Birnbaum says there are parallels between the lessons learned in Sri Lanka and the current crisis unfolding in New Orleans. WADEM is the research arm of the World Health Organization, which works to implement the group's findings in everyday practice.
- Dennis Maki, Ovid O. Meyer Professor of Medicine; head, section of infectious diseases. Maki is a national expert on the control of emerging and infectious diseases, and he says the spread of disease from contaminated water will be the top health threat for the more than 2 million people impacted by the hurricane.
Enteric infections can become widespread in cases where sewer systems are failing and fresh water is scarce, and both conditions exist in New Orleans and many other communities. Such infections include Hepatitis A, salmonella, E. coli and shigella. The stagnant water also becomes a haven for mosquitoes that can spread West Nile, encephalitis and dengue fever, all of which have been on the rise in Central and South America. "Restoring fresh drinking water and repairing sewer systems is the most urgent health issue," Dr. Maki says. "Any delays would be catastrophic."
- Kenneth Potter, professor of civil and environmental engineering. Potter's primary research is in the design of flood-management strategies and can offer perspectives on the staggering logistical challenges facing New Orleans in draining floodwater and regaining flood controls. Potter also has an understanding of the hydrology, geomorphology, and drainage system of New Orleans gained from living in the city for the first half of his life.
- Dan Anderson, professor of actuarial science, risk management and insurance. Anderson is an expert in catastrophic insurance, environmental risk management and government insurance programs.
- Hemant Shah, professor of journalism and mass communication. Shah conducts research on race, ethnicity and mass media and can comment on the racial dimensions of the Hurricane Katrina coverage, including assumptions made, types of language used, sourcing decisions and other issues.
- Donald Hester, professor emeritus of economics. Hester is an expert on macroeconomics, which includes topics such as finance, unemployment, inflation, and productivity, and can comment on the economic consequences of natural disasters, reconstruction, and high energy prices.
- Ned Kalin, professor of psychiatry and director, HealthEmotions Research Institute. Kalin is a psychiatrist who sees patients with stress-related depression and anxiety and has studied stress in his laboratory for more than 20 years. Kalin can discuss the psychological impacts of the disaster on survivors and emergency personnel, and unique traumas faced by children.
- David Noyce, assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering. Noyce studies traffic management and evacuation management during emergencies. He is also co-director of Wisconsin Traffic Operations and Safety Laboratory.
- Teresa Adams, professor of civil and environmental engineering. Adams is an expert in the use of geographic information systems (GIS) to aid in the disaster recovery period. She also directs the Midwest Regional University Transportation Center and the new $16 million National University Transportation Center. - Steven Cramer, professor of civil and environmental engineering. Cramer and other UW-Madison colleagues have conducted research on bridge and building stability following major floods.
- Al Gunther, professor of life sciences communication. Gunther deals with the perceived influence of media on major events. He can discuss how media coverage can potentially affect public policy and whether media coverage accurately represents a major event.
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