Californias relaxed COVID isolation guidance marks a milestone in public health messaging about the pandemic: Even newly infected people no longer need to isolate if they have no symptoms, or they can leave home sooner if the illness starts improving quickly.
Californias stance is even looser than that of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which advises isolating for at least five days after the onset of symptoms or, if asymptomatic, after the first positive test.
The changing recommendations, which have gained attention as the winter COVID wave shows signs of cresting in California, underscores the evolving nature of the coronavirus threat.
But they come with one vital warning. Health officials say infected people who venture out need to mask up. If they dont, they could easily transmit the coronavirus to others.
Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a UC San Francisco infectious disease expert, said he thinks Californias new isolation guidance makes sense, but the only sort-of worry I have is that people are not going to do the mask part, but theyre just going to focus on the fact that you dont have to stay home for five days.
People focus on what has changed, but they dont focus on what hasnt changed, Chin-Hong said. Masks should really be part of normal life, like if youre sick or you have symptoms, put the mask on regardless of what you have; it could be COVID, a cold, RSV, influenza.
The guidance says masks should be well-fitting and have optimal filtration; ideally, an N95, KN95 or KF94 model.
Its also important that those who do have symptoms test themselves.
Some days, it might be an allergy, but some days it might be that you did pick up COVID, said Dr. Daisy Dodd, an infectious diseases specialist with Kaiser Permanente Orange County.
Californias new guidance says that people who have COVID-19 symptoms need to isolate and test themselves. An early negative test may not mean the person doesnt have COVID; the CDC suggests testing again two and four days after the onset of symptoms.
Those who test positive but remain asymptomatic need not isolate but must wear a high-quality mask when around others for 10 days after the first positive test.
Those who do develop symptoms such as a cough, sore throat, runny nose or body aches can end their isolation period once their symptoms are mild and improving, provided they havent had a fever for 24 hours without using medication. Still, they need to wear a mask for 10 days after the onset of symptoms.
Whether symptomatic or not, those with COVID can stop wearing a mask before 10 days if they test negative on two consecutive rapid tests, taken at least one day apart.
Los Angeles County also recommends waiting for a negative rapid test before leaving isolation within the 10 days following the first symptoms. A negative rapid test result is not needed on Day 11 or after.
Some experts have criticized Californias looser isolation guidance. On social media, Michael Mina, chief science officer for eMed and an epidemiologist formerly with the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, wrote that it essentially encourages infectious people to return to work/school & infect others.
It is outrageous, Mina wrote. They advise: if no fever, but blazing positive rapid test, no worries, go back to work/school!
Mina suggested that a better approach would be to ask people to isolate for a period no more and no less than they are a risk to others a decision that can be made when the person tests negative on a rapid test as they recover. Rapid test results are real personalized empirical data correlated with being infectious, Mina wrote.
Others note that the new state guidance hasnt resulted in a severe public backlash. And many residents havent been following official guidance for a long time anyway, thinking it doesnt make sense to stay home if they feel fine.
Thats part of the thing: People are doing this anyway, so you might as well give them best practices, Chin-Hong said, stressing mask use for those infected.
The guidance, issued Jan. 9, has been echoed by local officials in recent weeks amid a significant wave of coronavirus infections. State and national data posted by the CDC suggest that levels of the virus in sewage are at the highest point since the first Omicron wave two winters ago.
The wave of illness has been noticeable in causing more workers to call in sick. Many describe miserable illnesses with intensely sore throats that feel like theyre studded with shards of glass, coughing fits that leave them winded and body aches that make them feel as if theyve been hit by a truck.
California clinicians this winter have noted patients who tested positive for COVID-19 and flu at the same time.
Notably, there are fewer incidents of severe acute COVID-19 illness than there were in the early years of the pandemic. New COVID-19 hospitalizations are at the lowest points for a winter season since the pandemic began. Its likely that vaccinations, natural immunity from past infections and the development of medications such as Paxlovid have made the disease much less risky. However, any bout with the illness presents the risk of developing into long COVID.
Lower levels of severe illness were a big part of Californias rationale for loosening the isolation guidance. Prior guidelines were set when Californians had little immunity and there were a large number of hospitalizations and deaths that overwhelmed our healthcare systems, officials wrote. We are now at a different point in time with reduced impacts from COVID-19 compared to prior years.
Californias winter wave appears to have either plateaued or started to decline.
For the week to Jan. 20, there were 2,975 new COVID-19 hospitalizations, down 10% from the prior week. The seasonal high thus far was 3,746 for the week that ended Dec. 30. This was lower than the prior winters peak of 5,260 during the last week of 2022.
The first two winters of the pandemic were the most deadly for California and strained hospital systems. The peak for new hospitalizations during the first winter was 16,663, for the week that ended Jan. 9, 2021.
In Los Angeles County, virus levels in wastewater appear to be plateauing. For the week that ended Jan. 13, the most recent available, levels reached 67% of last winters peak.
However, in the San Jose area, virus levels as of Jan. 21 were at their highest level for the winter, comparable to the first Omicron wave two years ago.
Statewide data from Kaiser Permanente indicate that COVID-19 may be plateauing, flu is on the way up, and respiratory syncytial virus might be starting to come down, Dodd said.
In L.A. County, flu and RSV levels have lowered but remain elevated, the Department of Public Health said.
Dodd continues to recommend COVID-19, flu and RSV immunizations.
While COVID-19 has become less deadly, it remains a significant public health challenge. Since Oct. 1, at least 24,000 COVID-19 deaths have been reported nationally, including at least 1,900 in California.
COVID-19 continues to cause more hospitalizations than influenza and respiratory syncytial virus, the CDC said in a statement last week.
Flu is also playing a significant role at emergency rooms.
Right now, more people are going to emergency departments to get care and being diagnosed with flu than COVID-19, the CDC said.
Tuesday, January 30th 2024 - 10:36 UTC There is a considerable number of positive cases in the pediatric age group in Argentina
Despite the ongoing economic crisis, a sharp increase in sales of facemasks (15%) and alcohol gel (10%) was reported amid a surge in Covid-19 detections, the Argentine Union of Pharmacists and Biochemists (SAFyB) said. In this scenario, federal health authorities have again recommended people update their vaccination scheme against the malady.
Infectiologist Silvia Gonzlez Ayala told Noticias Argentinas that several factors contributed to the rise in the number of cases, the first one being non-compliance with the vaccination schedule. She argued that only a few people were vaccinated with the ambivalent booster, which is the one that should be administered because it provides a very broad protection.
She also pointed out that children, especially those under 12 years of age, were the ones less vaccinated while there was a considerable number of positive cases in the pediatric age group.
Another factor contributing to the increase in the number of cases is the concentration of people in closed places with poor ventilation, coupled with a drop in regular hand washing with water and soap.
Regarding facemasks, the expert stressed they should cover both mouth and nose and recommended using them in closed places with little ventilation. It would be a very prudent measure, she said.
Gonzalez Ayala criticized the amount of false information on the adverse effects of vaccines, considering it as a reason for people not to get vaccinated. He also mentioned that another reason is that people are no longer so afraid of the disease, as Covid is not associated with death as it was in the early days of the pandemic.
Chile
In Chile, an increase of nearly 75% in Covid-19 cases from last month was reported. Experts foresee that the trend will continue for a few more weeks. The new wave of mostly mild infections has had a very low impact on the country's health system.
Between Jan. 14 and 20, there were 3,436 new confirmed infections, at a daily average of 491 cases, a 74.7% increase from the week of Dec. 10-16 when 1,966 infections were recorded (281 cases per day). The new figures are believed to stem from the appearance of the Pirola subvariant.
Most likely, cases will continue to increase a little bit. That is why the authorities call to get vaccinated against Covid-19 and influenza is so important and thus be prepared for the winter because in the northern hemisphere, there is a lot of coronavirus and this will be replicated in Chile, Luis Castillo, coordinator of the Critical Patient Unit of the Barros Luco Hospital, told La Tercera.
In recent weeks we have noticed an increase in consultations and we have also recorded some hospitalizations which generally correspond to patients who are in risk groups, i.e., those over 60 years of age with comorbidities, Sebastin Ugarte, head of the Critical Patient Unit at the Indisa Clinic noted.
Authorities have launched new appeals to the population to get vaccinated after a new campaign was launched in November for those over 60 years of age, immunocompromised patients, healthcare professionals, and people with chronic diseases.
Uruguay
As a new vaccination campaign was launched in Montevideo on Monday, Uruguay's Health Ministry issued a report on the drug's possible side effects. The document read that very rare cases of myocarditis and pericarditis were detected mainly in young men under 40 years of age, which evolved favorably unlike unvaccinated people who contracted Covid-19.
It is recommended to report adverse effects when they persist over time, interfere with daily activity, require an emergency medical consultation, or lead to hospitalization, the Uruguayan authorities stressed.
According to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), more than 330 million doses of vaccine using messenger RNA technology have been administered in the Americas.
Researchers from INGENIO, a joint center of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientficas (CSIC) and the Universitat Politcnica de Valncia (UPV), have recently published, together with two co-authors from the University of Sussex (UK), the results of a study on the organization of the laboratory network to perform Covid-19 PCR testing during the Covid-19 pandemic in Spain and the UK and its subsequent implications.
The work shows how the criteria of medical professionals in Spain (in this case clinical microbiologists in public hospitals) were more influential in the organization of testing laboratories than in the United Kingdom. In the latter country, criteria related to efficiency were imposed, with experts having less influence over decisions on testing activities. These conditions led to creation of new centralized mega-laboratories - the so-called 'Lighthouse Labs', which were criticized for their high cost and low quality of testing.
The consequences of these decisions have been very different in the two countries: while in Spain the influence of microbiologists helped public hospital laboratories to be more prepared today than before the pandemic, in the United Kingdom the large centralized laboratories that were built during the crisis have been dismantled and it seems that they have not helped to improve the country's capabilities."
David Barber, researcher at INGENIO and one of the authors of the study
The study is based on 44 interviews conducted with expert personnel from both countries, from heads of laboratories to health policy makers or public health specialists in both countries, in addition to the analysis of multiple documents.
"Our analysis focuses on the discourses and practices used in the two countries that we conceptualize as "boundary work", i.e., discourses and practices aimed at excluding from the system laboratories that had PCR technology but did not meet the criteria set by the logic of medical professionals (in Spain) or the logic of efficiency (in the United Kingdom)," explains Enrique Meseguer, INGENIO researcher and co-author of the study.
Thus, the study highlights that while in the United Kingdom the established publicly funded clinical laboratories were limited in their testing volumes, in favor of Lighthouse Labs, in Spain university or research laboratories were de facto excluded.
This work is part of the OCTS (Optimising Coronavirus Testing Systems) research project led by the University of Sussex and funded by UKRI (United Kingdom Research & Innovation), the British government funding agency. The project has studied the organization of the testing system in eight countries during the Covid-19 crisis (United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, South Korea, South Africa, Ireland, Australia and Canada). An interdisciplinary team, composed of specialists in innovation in medicine, health emergencies or epidemiology, met weekly during the period June 2020 to May 2022 to discuss different aspects of pandemic testing systems in the countries studied. Investigations have been carried out on issues such as the relationship between testing system capacity and excess mortality in all countries studied, or the organization of testing for international travel. This comparative work focused on Spain and the United Kingdom is the first article published as a result of the research project.
Source:
Journal reference:
BarberaToms, D., et al. (2023). Who can Test. Test. Test.? The interplay between boundary work and institutions in the organisation of diagnostic testing for COVID-19.Innovation: Management, Policy and Practice. doi.org/10.1080/14479338.2023.2254740.
California
Highly contagious virus has particularly ravaged Californias Sonoma county, know as the Egg Basket of the World
Associated Press
Mon 29 Jan 2024 13.43 EST
Last month, Mike Weber got the news every poultry farmer fears: his chickens tested positive for avian flu.
Following government rules, Webers company, Sunrise Farms, had to slaughter its entire flock of egg-laying hens 550,000 birds to prevent the disease from infecting other farms in Sonoma county north of San Francisco.
Its a trauma. Were all going through grief as a result of it, said Weber, standing in an empty hen house. Petaluma is known as the Egg Basket of the World. Its devastating to see that egg basket go up in flames.
A year after the bird flu led to record egg prices and widespread shortages, the disease known as highly pathogenic avian influenza is wreaking havoc in California, which escaped the earlier wave of outbreaks that devastated poultry farms in the midwest.
The highly contagious virus has ravaged Sonoma county, where officials have declared a state of emergency. During the past two months, nearly a dozen commercial farms have had to destroy more than 1 million birds to control the outbreak, dealing an economic blow to farmers, workers and their customers.
Merced county in Central California also has been hit hard, with outbreaks at several large commercial egg-producing farms in recent weeks.
Experts say bird flu is spread by ducks, geese and other migratory birds. The waterfowl can carry the virus without getting sick and easily spread it through their droppings to chicken and turkey farms and backyard flocks through droppings and nasal discharges.
California poultry farms are implementing strict biosecurity measures to curb the spread of the disease. State veterinarian Annette Jones urged farmers to keep their flocks indoors until June, including organic chickens that are required to have outdoor access.
We still have migration going for another couple of months. So weve got to be as vigilant as possible to protect our birds, said Bill Mattos, president of the California Poultry Federation.
The loss of local hens led to a spike in egg prices in the San Francisco Bay Area over the holidays before supermarkets and restaurants found suppliers from outside the region.
While bird flu has been around for decades, the current outbreak of the virus that began in early 2022 has prompted officials to slaughter nearly 82 million birds, mostly egg-laying chickens, in 47 US states, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Whenever the disease is found the entire flock is slaughtered to help limit the spread of the virus.
The price of a dozen eggs more than doubled to $4.82 at its peak in January 2023. Egg prices returned to their normal range as egg producers built up their flocks and outbreaks were controlled. Turkey and chicken prices also spiked, partly due to the virus.
I think this is an existential issue for the commercial poultry industry. The virus is on every continent, except for Australia at this point, said Maurice Pitesky, a poultry expert at the University of California, Davis.
Climate change is increasing the risk of outbreaks as changing weather patterns disrupt the migratory patterns of wild birds, Pitesky said. For example, exceptional rainfall last year created new waterfowl habitat throughout California, including areas close to poultry farms.
In California, the outbreak has impacted more than 7 million chickens in about 40 commercial flocks and 24 backyard flocks, with most of the outbreaks occurring over the past two months on the North Coast and Central Valley, according to the USDA.
Industry officials are worried about the growing number of backyard chickens that could become infected and spread avian flu to commercial farms.
We have wild birds that are are full of virus. And if you expose your birds to these wild birds, they might get infected and ill, said Rodrigo Gallardo, a UC Davis researcher who studies avian influenza.
Gallardo advises the owners of backyard chickens to wear clean clothes and shoes to protect their flocks from getting infected. If an unusual number of chickens die, they should be tested for avian flu.
Ettamarie Peterson, a retired teacher in Petaluma, has a flock of about 50 chickens that produce eggs she sells from her backyard barn for 50 cents each.
Im very concerned because this avian flu is transmitted by wild birds, and theres no way I can stop the wild birds from coming through and leaving the disease behind, Peterson said. If your flock has any cases of it, you have to destroy the whole flock.
Sunrise Farms, which was started by Webers great-grandparents more than a century ago, was infected despite putting in place strict biosecurity measures to protect the flock.
The virus got to the birds so bad and so quickly you walked in and the birds were just dead, Weber said. Heartbreaking doesnt describe how you feel when you walk in and perfectly healthy young birds have been just laid out.
After euthanizing more than half a million chickens at Sunrise Farms, Weber and his employees spent the Christmas holiday discarding the carcasses. Since then, theyve been cleaning out and disinfecting the hen houses.
Weber hopes the farm will get approval from federal regulators to bring chicks back to the farm this spring. Then it would take another five months before the hens are mature enough to lay eggs.
He feels lucky that two farms his company co-owns have not been infected and are still producing eggs for his customers. But recovering from the outbreak wont be easy.
We have a long road ahead, Weber said. Were going to make another run of it and try to keep this family of employees together because theyve worked so hard to build this into the company that it is.
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The News
A highly lethal form of bird flu has been detected in Antarctic penguins for the first time. The virus, which is known as H5N1, was confirmed in a few gentoo penguins that were found dead in the Falkland Islands, according to the British territorys Department of Agriculture. Another few dozen gentoo penguins were reported sick or dead at the same location.
At least one suspected case has also been reported in king penguins in South Georgia, another British territory, according to the Antarctic Wildlife Health Network, which is part of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research.
The familiar black-and-white birds are facing numerous threats, including climate change, pollution and commercial fishing. Three Antarctic penguin species emperor penguins, southern rockhopper penguins and macaroni penguins are listed as vulnerable or near threatened.
Before H5N1 arrived in the Antarctic region last fall, highly pathogenic bird flu viruses had never been documented in the area before. That means that the penguins are likely to have little existing immunity. And because they breed in large, crowded colonies, once one penguin is infected, the virus could spread rapidly, causing mass mortalities. (As the virus spread through South America last year, Chile reported the deaths of thousands of Humboldt penguins.)
The extent of the viruss spread in Antarctic penguin populations remains unclear, and the king penguin cases have not yet been confirmed.
We have no conclusive evidence that king penguin populations in South Georgia have been impacted by the virus, Laura Willis, the chief executive of the government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, said in an email. We are monitoring the situation across the islands and apply a precautionary approach, which includes closing some sites to allow further investigations to take place.
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Previous outbreaks have shown that penguins are highly vulnerable to the disease
One king penguin is suspected to have died from bird flu on South Georgia island in the Antarctic region, Guardian reported. If confirmed, it will be the first of the species killed by the highly contagious H5N1 virus in the wild.
Researchers have expressed concerns about the potentially devastating impact of the disease on remote penguin populations highlighting that the current breeding season could allow the virus to spread rapidly and cause ''one of the largest ecological disasters of modern times.''
The Antarctic was the only major geographical region in which high pathogenicity avian influenza virus had never previously been detected.Birds such as penguins that have never before been exposed to the virus would have no prior immunity, potentially making them more vulnerable.
King penguins, the second-largest penguin species in the world,at about 3 feet tall, can live for more than 20 years in the wild. Apart from the king penguin, a gentoo penguin also died from H5N1 at the same location. Another gentoo penguin has been confirmed to have died from H5N1 on the Falkland Islands, 900 miles (1,500km) west of South Georgia
Previous outbreaks in South Africa, Chile, and Argentina have shown that penguins are highly vulnerable to the disease, as over 500,000 seabirds in South America, including penguins, pelicans, and boobies have died from it.
Ed Hutchinson, a molecular virologist at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, said: ''The arrival of this H5N1 virus in the Antarctic towards the end of last year rang alarm bells because of the risk it posed to wildlife in this fragile ecosystem. And while it is very sad to hear reports of penguins dying it is unfortunately not at all surprising.''
Diana Bell, emeritus professor of conservation biology at the University of East Anglia, also voiced similar fears. She said, ''I'm just devastated, really as will everybody who cares about penguins and the Antarctic Given their colonial social organisation, you'd just wonder how quickly it would go through the colonies.''
The threat of avian flu adds to the existing pressures faced by pristine polar ecosystems. A study from 2018 predicted that king penguins in Antarctica could face extinction by the end of this century.
A few weeks back, a polar bear also died from H5N1, marking the first recorded case of this species.The bear was discovered in Utqiagvik, an area that's been hit hard by the current global outbreak.Polar bears are categorized as "vulnerable" on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list of endangered species, primarily as a result of the diminishing sea ice.
The virus also poses a threat to humans, particularly those in contact with poultry.
The age of extinction
With confirmed or suspected cases in two Antarctic penguin species, researchers fear highly contagious virus could rip through colonies
At least one king penguin is suspected to have died from bird flu in the Antarctic. If confirmed, it will be the first of the species killed by the highly contagious H5N1 virus in the wild.
Researchers have previously raised alarm about one of the largest ecological disasters of modern times if bird flu reached remote Antarctic penguin populations. The birds are currently clustering together for breeding season, meaning the disease could rip through entire colonies if it continues to spread through the region.
King penguins are the worlds second-largest penguin, at about 3ft tall, and can live for more than 20 years in the wild. The suspected case was recorded on South Georgia island in the Antarctic region, according to the latest update from the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (Scar). A gentoo penguin was also suspected to have died from H5N1 at the same location.
Quick Guide
What is H5N1, the deadly strain of bird flu sweeping the world?
The current outbreak of bird flu started in Europe in 2021. By September 2022, H5N1 had been recorded in63 wild bird species across 37 countries, according to anavian influenza overviewpublished by the European Food Safety Authority. It hits seabirds particularly hard because they sit so close together during the breeding season: some colonies experience losses of 50% to 60%.
Then it crossed the Atlantic, with thefirst US caserecorded in an American wigeon duck found in South Carolina in January 2022. By November it had reachedSouth America. More than 40% of all Peruvian pelicans died over a period of a few weeks in early 2023.
Working out how many wild birds have died is difficult because so many carcasses are never found or counted. Researchers say it may bein the millions.
Does it affect other species?
The H5N1 virus has multiple genes that can switch and evolve together to spread the virus quickly into a wide range of species. The death of anestimated 20,000 sea lionsin Chile and Peru shows that this is a disease that also kills mammals en masse. Black bears, brown bears and polar bears have also been killed.
How did it reach the Antarctic, and what will happen next?
The spread of this disease is facilitated by the migration routes of wild birds. It took justthree monthsto spread almost 4,000 miles down South America, and it was seen as inevitable it would at some point reach the Antarctic.
It was first reported in the region in October 2023 among brown skua on Bird Island, off South Georgia. Since then it has spread into elephant seals, fur seals and kelp gulls. Most recently, it has been recorded in Antarcticpenguin populationstoo.
So far there are no recorded cases on the Antarctic mainland, although researchers expect that to happen in the coming months. This latest H5N1 virus is yet to be reported in Oceania.
Separately, at least one gentoo penguin has been confirmed to have died from H5N1 on the Falkland Islands 900 miles (1,500km) west of South Georgia with more than 20 chicks either dead or also showing symptoms. Since H5N1 arrived in the Antarctic, there have been mass deaths of elephant seals as well as increased deaths of fur seals, kelp gulls and brown skua in the region.
Previous outbreaks in South Africa, Chile and Argentina show penguins are susceptible to the disease. Since it arrived in South America, more than 500,000 seabirds have died of it, with penguins, pelicans and boobies among those most heavily affected.
Ed Hutchinson, a molecular virologist at the MRC-University of Glasgow Centre for Virus Research, said: The arrival of this H5N1 virus in the Antarctic towards the end of last year rang alarm bells because of the risk it posed to wildlife in this fragile ecosystem. And while it is very sad to hear reports of penguins dying it is unfortunately not at all surprising.
Diana Bell, emeritus professor of conservation biology at the University of East Anglia, said she had feared something like this would happen. Im just devastated, really as will everybody who cares about penguins and the Antarctic Given their colonial social organisation, youd just wonder how quickly it would go through the colonies.
So far, there are no recorded cases on the Antarctic mainland, according to Scar mapping data, but this could be because there are so few people present to record possible fatalities. Avian flu adds to the pressures already faced in these pristine polar ecosystems a study in 2018 warned that the climate crisis and overfishing meant Antarcticas king penguins could disappear by the end of the century.
The disease is also ripping through wildlife populations in the Arctic. In December, it was confirmed that for the first time a polar bear had died of H5N1. As with penguins, it is possible that more bears have died unnoticed as they tend to live in remote places with few people.
Find more age of extinction coverage here, and follow biodiversity reporters Phoebe Weston and Patrick Greenfield on X (formerly known as Twitter) for all the latest news and features
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In what comes as a first, at least one king penguin is suspected to have died from bird flu in the Antarctic. If the suspicion is confirmed, it could spell havoc for the population of penguins on the continent.
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According to the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research (Scar), the case was recorded on South Georgia Island. A gentoo penguin is also believed to have died after contracting the H5N1 virus at the same location. More than 20 chicks were also either dead or showed symptoms of the virus.
Currently, the king penguins have clustered together for the breeding season. If the lethal variant of avian flu is indeed found in the dead penguin, it could rip through entire colonies and continue to spread through the region.
King penguins measure about 3 feet in heightand are regarded as the world's second-largest penguins behind Emperor penguins.
Earlier this month, using satellite imagery, researchersrevealedpreviously unknown colonies of emperor penguins along the edges of Antarctica.The scientists said that the finding of these nests adds a few thousand extra penguins to the earlier estimated population of 550,000.
However, if the bird flu reaches them, it could be disastrous and wipe out the entire species. Emperor penguins are already considered "near threatened" and face extinction. The new bird flu scare has added to the challenge to protect them.
Watch:Four new emperor penguin groups discovered in Antarctica
The highly contagious H5N1 virus was first reported when it made its way to populations of brown skuas on Bird Island, part of the British overseas territory of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, in October last year.
The death of themigrating brown skuas led researchers to send swabs back to the UK for testing. The results confirmed the presence of H5N1 on the Antarctic island.
Also read | Adorable blue Penguin at New Zealand's Wellington airport runway causes flight delays
Scientists are concerned that owing to the continent's prior lack of exposure to H5N1, the wildlife has no natural immunity towards the virus. The USCenters for Disease Control and Prevention states that there have been instances where bird flu has been contracted by the mammals who eatpresumably infected birds or poultry.
Through this way, the virus might be able to jump from birds to mammals, therefore having a tremendous impact on the region's ecosystem.
(With inputs from agencies)
The Banner Health Urgent Care at Central Avenue and Washington Street in Phoenix on Jan. 22 is open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and provides flu shots. (Photo by Jack Orleans/Cronkite News)
An emergency room entrance to a hospital in Scottsdale run by HonorHealth pictured on Jan. 24. (Photo by Jack Orleans/Cronkite News)
PHOENIX As flu season reaches its peak, Maricopa County hospital emergency rooms and urgent care clinics are filling up with people with flu and flu-like illnesses. Health professionals advise residents to take care of themselves and their community members with preventive measures.
Mercedes Morris, a nurse practitioner at Banner Urgent Care, has worked in various facilities throughout the Valley for two years. She feels this year has brought a higher volume of influenza cases than in previous years.
Influenza can affect all age groups and the seasons are from October through May, Morris said. Right now, were basically at the peak.
The Arizona Department of Health Services reported 30,969 cases of influenza in the state since the beginning of the season on Oct. 1 through Wednesday. Both flu and RSV respiratory syncytial virus peaked during the holiday season and health providers report seeing an influx of respiratory illness cases ever since then.
Aeyrie Reiff, a family nurse practitioner, has been working with the Banner Urgent Care unit since 2008.
Its been busy. I think a lot of that could just be contributed to people interacting with other people again, right? Reiff said. We just had Christmas and New Years holidays and people were once again allowed or willing to be involved with their families and friends. Anytime you have that intersection, youre going to have illness.
This marks a major change from the pandemic, when urgent care facilities were handling high numbers of cases of both influenza and COVID-19, overwhelmed by the number of patients with severe symptoms.
After going through the pandemic, everything feels simpler, Reiff said. The stress, the lack of supplies, the lack of everything that we had during that time really puts into perspective how good we have it.
Aeyrie Reiff, family nurse practitioner for Banner Health Urgent Care, shares advice on Jan. 22 for protecting against respiratory illnesses. (Photo by Jack Orleans/Cronkite News)
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, professional health care is recommended for those experiencing emergency warning signs of the flu.
Emergency warning signs include: difficulty breathing, persistent chest pain, seizures, lack of urination, severe muscle pain, fever or cough that improve but then return or worsen, and worsening of chronic medical conditions.
Those at higher risk including people 65 years or older, people with chronic medical conditions, pregnant women and young children should also pay attention to flu symptoms and visit a health care professional, according to the Maricopa County Public Health Department.
So with anything, I think numbers are relative, for all this stuff, Reiff said. What matters more is how well youre caring for yourself.
If you already have a weak kidney or weak lungs or a weak heart, your risk of having a severe case is going to be higher, Reiff said. Same thing with COVID or any of these respiratory illnesses.
Those with high-risk lifestyles, such as essential workers, should evaluate their symptoms before returning to work.
If youre a person that is constantly in front of the public, if youre a person thats constantly doing things around many people, your risk for getting a communicable disease can be much higher as opposed to someone that does a stay-at-home job, Reiff said.
Medical professionals say vaccines are essential in protecting yourself and others. Both nurse practitioners said vaccines will be effective throughout the remainder of this years flu season; they advised getting them even now.
Vaccines are important, they help decrease risk. I think thats what a lot of this comes down to when you think about preventative treatment, Reiff said. You need to think about yourself and how much risk youre putting yourself in.
If youre having any kind of symptoms, fevers, body aches, chills: stay indoors, Morris said. Avoid large crowds, wear a mask, good hand hygiene, push lots of fluids.
Brenna Gauchat expects to graduate in May 2024 with a bachelors degree in journalism and a minor in English. Gauchat has worked for The State Press and interned at PHOENIX Magazine. She currently interns at The Arizona Republic.
Jack Orleans expects to graduate in May 2024 with a bachelors degree in journalism and mass communication. Orleans is a journalist based in Phoenix who has interned at ICT (formerly Indian Country Today).
A man lines up for COVID-19 test as it snows on Thursday, March 17, 2022, in Beijing. A fast-spreading variant known as "stealth omicron" is testing China's zero-tolerance strategy, which had kept the virus at bay since the deadly initial outbreak in the city of Wuhan in early 2020. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) As winter sets in, the increased prevalence of colds, flu, COVID-19, RSV and other illnesses becomes a familiar concern.
Many wonder why these illnesses seem to flourish during the colder months. The answer lies in the intricate interplay between temperature, humidity and the behavior of viruses.
Cold weather alone does not cause illnesses, but it does create conditions that favor the spread of viruses.
The National Institutes of Health notes that low temperatures can weaken the immune response in the nasal passages, making individuals more susceptible to viral infections. Additionally, people tend to spend more time indoors during the winter, increasing the likelihood of close contact and transmission.
Viruses, including the flu and SARS-CoV-2 (the virus responsible for COVID-19), are known to travel through respiratory droplets expelled from the body when an infected person talks, coughs or sneezes. In colder temperatures, these droplets can travel farther and remain in the air longer.
The cold air tends to be drier, causing respiratory droplets to evaporate more slowly. This means that virus-containing droplets can linger in the air for extended periods, increasing the risk of exposure for individuals in the vicinity.
Research from the NIH indicates that certain respiratory viruses, like the flu virus, may survive better in cold and dry conditions.
Cold temperatures can help the viruss outer membrane become more stable, allowing it to persist on surfaces for longer periods. This extended viability on surfaces contributes to the ease of transmission through contact with contaminated surfaces.
Humidity levels also play a crucial role in the transmission of respiratory illnesses. According to the CDC, low humidity in winter can dry out the mucous membranes in the respiratory tract, reducing the bodys natural defenses against viruses. Low humidity may also make respiratory droplets smaller, enabling them to stay airborne for longer periods.
The winter months create an environment conducive to the spread of many viral illnesses. Cold temperatures, low humidity and the tendency to spend more time indoors all contribute to the increased transmission of viruses.
Understanding these factors can empower individuals to take appropriate precautions, such as frequent hand washing, wearing masks and practicing social distancing, to lower the risk of getting sick during the winter season.
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