Citation

Yorifuji T, Sato T, Yoneda T, Kishida Y, Yamamoto S, Sakai T, Sashiyama H, Takahashi S, Orui H, Kato D, Hasegawa T, Suzuki Y, Okamoto M, Hayashi H, Suganami S. Arch. Environ. Occup. Health 2018; 73(5): 284-291.

Affiliation

Association of Medical Doctors of Asia , Okayama , Japan ; E-mail: president@amda.or.jp.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/19338244.2017.1343238

PMID

28622104

Abstract

Two huge earthquakes struck Kumamoto, Japan in April 2016, forcing local residents to evacuate. Few studies have reported early-phase disease and injury trends among evacuees following major inland earthquakes. We evaluated the trends among evacuees who visited a medical clinic in a shelter located at the epicenter of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquakes. The clinic opened on April 15, the day after the foreshock, and closed 3 weeks later. We reviewed medical charts related to 929 outpatient visits and conducted descriptive analyses. The evacuees experienced mild injuries and common diseases. The types of diseases changed on a weekly basis. Elderly people needed medical support for longer than other age-groups. Future earthquakes may be inevitable, but establishing arrangements for medical needs or making precautions for infectious diseases in shelters could reduce the impacts of earthquake-related health problems.

Language: en

Keywords

Common disease; Kumamoto; communicable disease control; disaster; earthquake; epidemiology; injury