Counting the dead: Puerto Rico death count could be even higher

Dr. Gilbert Burnham, founder of the Center for Humanitarian Health at Johns Hopkins University, believes the death toll from Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico could be even higher than the estimate of 4,600 made by researchers affiliated with Harvard's school of public health last week. The Harvard estimate far surpassed the government's count of the dead, and it underscored the problem of delayed medical care in the aftermath of the devastating storm. Burnham is an expert in conducting household surveys to estimate deaths from wars and natural disasters. He led teams that investigated civilian deaths after the U.S. invasion of Iraq and, more recently, deaths that occurred during the military liberation of Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, from ISIS control.


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