Researcher Seeks Truth About ‘Katrina Cough’

[Guest guest]

Researcher Seeks Truth About ‘Katrina Cough’

January 2, 2008

_http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/010208_cough.cfm_

(http://tulane.edu/news/newwave/010208_cough.cfm)

 

Rumors of a “Katrina cough†started circulating in New Orleans as soon as

people began clearing debris, gutting houses and rebuilding after the

hurricane in August 2005. Is this a respiratory complaint caused by breathing

polluted dust, is it only seasonal allergies, and does it cause long-term

changes in

respiratory health? A researcher in the Tulane School of Medicine seeks

answers.

 

 

 

Henry Glindmeyer, a professor of pulmonary, critical care and environmental

medicine at Tulane, will use a mobile lab to examine 1,000 workers in New

Orleans to determine their lung health after Hurricane Katrina. (Photo by Paula

Burch-Celentano)

 

 

 

Henry Glindmeyer is carrying out a five-year study to determine if workers

in New Orleans face risks from inhalant exposure to minute particles such as

mold, fungi or bacteria. _Glindmeyer_

(http://www.som.tulane.edu/pulmdis/Glindmeyer.htm) is a professor of pulmonary,

critical care and environmental

medicine at Tulane. The study is funded by the National Institute for

Occupational

Safety and Health, an agency of the Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention, which is providing $1.86 million.

 

Glindmeyer will gather data annually from approximately 1,000 workers.

Tulane is partnering with large employers in the New Orleans area with numerous

workers on their payrolls, including the City of New Orleans.

 

The testing is non-invasive (no needles) and consists of a respiratory and

occupational questionnaire, a breathing test and exposure monitoring. Health

data will be collected in a mobile lab that will be brought to the workers at

their worksites. Study participation is voluntary and confidential.

 

“The participants will tell us where they work, where they live, what they

do, and the type of dust-generating activities they may be in or around,â€

says

Glindmeyer.

 

The annual respiratory exposure assessment uses a small monitor that is worn

at work for about five to six hours.

 

“The monitor uses a filter to capture ‘thoracic dust,’ or dust small

enough

to get deep into the lungs,†Glindmeyer says.

 

Samples will be analyzed for airborne dust, bacteria and mold. The purpose

is to measure exposure associated with specific work activities.

 

“We will construct an exposure profile for each participant, and investigate

associations between exposure, change in lung function, and changes in

respiratory symptoms or conditions, such as exacerbation of asthma or worsening

of

upper or lower respiratory symptoms,†Glindmeyer says.

 

The Katrina worker study is the latest in a long list of _respiratory

studies_ (http://www2.tulane.edu/article_news_details.cfm?ArticleID=6535) of

occupational inhalant exposures that have been conducted by Glindmeyer and his

associates over the last 35 years.

 

For more information about the study, go to the _study_

(http://katrinaworkerstudy.tulane.edu/) Web site, e-mail

_KatrinaWorkerStudy_

(KatrinaWorkerStudy) or phone 504-988-3846.