Deborah Flapan, Director, Medscape Medical News
Chicago, Illinois
Deborah Flapan has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Jane Hwang, Senior Editor/Photo, Medscape
New York City
Jane Hwang has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
The No. 3 nuclear reactor of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant is seen burning in this satellite image taken March 14, 2011. The Fukushima nuclear complex, 150 miles north of Tokyo, had already seen explosions at 2 of its reactors, which sent a huge plume of smoke billowing above the plant, just days after a devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed at least 15,000 people. Reactors No. 1 to No. 4 can be seen from bottom to top. The explosions were followed by spikes in radiation levels, which led evacuation of people living in the surrounding area. (Digital Globe/Handout, via Reuters)
A Tokyo Electric Power Company official points at an illustration of a nuclear plant as he answers reporters' questions at the disaster center in Fukushima, Japan, on March 15, 2011. A fresh explosion had just rocked a stricken Japanese nuclear power plant and some workers were ordered to leave the site, a sign that the situation may be getting more serious at the complex, which was damaged by the massive earthquake and tsunami. (Yuriko Nakao/Reuters)
Officials in protective gear check for signs of radiation on children who are from the evacuation area near the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Koriyama on March 13, 2011. Children are more vulnerable to radiation effects; because they are growing more rapidly, there are more cells dividing and a greater opportunity for radiation to disrupt the process. And in any disaster, children are also particularly vulnerable to psychological trauma. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, this "can manifest as generalized fear and anxiety, developmentally regressive behavior, sleep and appetite problems, altered play, school problems, or greater dependence on caregivers." (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)
Officials from Atoms of Peace, an authority in nuclear research in Thailand, prepare to test food imported from Japan, before the tsunami and earthquake, for radioactivity at their office in Bangkok on March 15, 2011. Thailand will randomly test imported Japanese food products for possible radiation contamination, the country's Food and Drug Administration said, after Japan warned of more radiation leakage from a power plant. (Chaiwat Subprasom/Reuters)
A woman cries while sitting on a road amid the destroyed city of Natori, Miyagi Prefecture, in northern Japan on March 13, 2011. Epidemic rates of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) are common following natural disasters. Up to 40% of those who have lived through disasters such as severe earthquakes, tsunamis, and hurricanes can experience symptoms of PTSD, and many never fully recover. (Asahi Shimbun/Reuters)
Evacuees, who fled from the vicinity of Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, sleep at an evacuation center set in a gymnasium in Kawamata, Fukushima Prefecture, in northern Japan on March 14, 2011. Shared living spaces and sanitary facilities, such as those in these large community evacuation centers, obviously expose people to crowded living conditions. As a result, evacuees may be at particular risk for respiratory infections and diarrheal diseases. Careful attention needs to be paid to illness screening and infection control, including hand-washing, personal hygiene, sanitizing of surfaces, and laundry and garbage management. (Yuriko Nakao/Reuters)
Deborah Flapan, Director, Medscape Medical News
Chicago, Illinois
Deborah Flapan has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Jane Hwang, Senior Editor/Photo, Medscape
New York City
Jane Hwang has disclosed no relevant financial relationships.
Earthquake in Haiti and the Medical Aftermath of Natural Disasters
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The Year in Medicine 2010
