Originally broadcast October 2, 2024
U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Mandy Cohen described to “Conversations on Health Care” that their role right now is ensuring impacted residents understand the health risks that are present and could continue to grow in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.
Dr. Cohen says while local, state and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) officials are in the acute response phase, CDC is doing its part by ensuring people realize there are growing risks, including from flooded roads that are not safe to drive over. The CDC says when returning to a flooded home after a natural disaster, be aware that the house may be contaminated with mold or sewage, which can make people sick.
“As a North Carolinian, my heart goes out to the people in the western part of our state. People had power outages, which means food has spoiled in the refrigerator…make sure you’re not eating spoiled food,” says Dr. Cohen, who previously served as North Carolina’s top state health official. “Our water systems have gotten hard hit, so thinking about whether if you need to be on bottled water. In the recovery phase…we’re likely to see more mosquitos because we’ll see standing water and making sure folks are doing what they need to do to protect themselves.”
Click now to hear her interview with Mark Masselli and Margaret Flinter.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Android | Podchaser | TuneIn | RSS | More
Originally broadcast August 14, 2025 One in five U.S. adults lives with a mental illness,…
Originally broadcast August 7, 2025 Experts who believe in the “food is medicine” concept say…
Americans are living longer for many reasons and experts credit Medicare and Medicaid for some…
“I would have never, ever in my whole life have said, ‘we’re going to cure…
Dr. Betancourt, president of the influential The Commonwealth Fund, is committed to “Affordable, quality health…
President Trump signed the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” into law on July 4 and…