Babies airlifted without parents in health emergency

AS a public health catastrophe unfolded in New Orleans, hospitals in the Crescent City sank further into disaster, airlifting babies without their parents to other states and struggling with more sick people appearing at their doors.

Dangerous, unsanitary conditions spread across the city, much of which sits in a murky stew of germs.

The federal government declared a public health emergency for the Gulf Coast region, promising 40 medical centres with up to 10,000 beds and thousands of doctors and nurses for the hurricane-ravaged area.