These guidelines were written by Dr. Jos� Luis Zeballos, Regional Advisor for the Emergency Preparedness and Disaster Relief Coordination Program of the Pan American Health Organization.

The author would like to thank Dr. Samir Ben Yahmed, World Health Organization, Geneva, and Dr. Claude de Ville de Goyet, Pan American Health Organization, Washington, D.C., for their contributions to and review of this text.

The publication of this document was made possible with the financial support of the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and the Office of U.S. Foreign Disaster Assistance of the United States Agency for International Development (OFDA/USAID).