If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or need help, call or text 988.
This is very common, so the first step is not to panic! Noro is at record high levels this year, so your employee likely does have vomiting and diarrhea. What probably happened here is that they went to the urgent care, who took one look at them and knew right away that it was (key word here) probably norovirus. In most cases, urgent cares don’t test for noro - they just tell the patient that it’s likely norovirus, give them an IV with anti-nausea medication in it, and send them home. Your employee heard them say “norovirus” and assumes that’s a formal diagnosis. The difference is key, though - noro is a reportable illness, which means any lab that tests for it has to report a positive result to your local health department. In true lab-confirmed cases, you should be prepared for a visit from the health department. That’s probably not going to happen here unless the employee follows up with positive test paperwork. We’ve gotten a half dozen calls about cases like this one this week, and only one was actually lab-confirmed. What you should do is a full noro sanitizing protocol, especially if the employee worked recently. Use a noro-approved sanitizer (not QUAT) with a focus on high-traffic touchpoints like faucets, sinks, and handles. Remind sick employees to stay out a full 48 hours after their vomiting and diarrhea stop, and do not underestimate the power of handwashing!
Source: CDC
Lots of manufacturers have actually been removing Red Dye No. 3 (and replacing it with Red Dye No. 40) for years. It’s been banned from cosmetics and non-oral medications for years because of a study nearly 30 years ago that showed it caused cancer in rats. As Valentine’s Day approaches, it’s worth noting that Brach’s conversation hearts (and candy corn, if you’re still working through your Halloween candy) contain Red 3. Other products with Red 3 include certain decorating icings, including Betty Crocker brand, flavored milks, ice creams, and nutrition shakes. For restaurants, keep an eye on any red icing you might use for cakes (Betty Crocker brand, for example) and maraschino cherries, though most brands have switched to 40. You can check the back of any product for the ingredient list, which will include the specific dyes used. Retailers and restaurants aren’t actually responsible for making any changes - manufacturers have two years to make the switch. But there’s some possibility that consumers will be more aware of dyes and ask about ingredients due to the publicity of this ban and increased awareness of the risks. As a reminder, Red 3 hasn’t actually been linked to increased cancer risk in humans yet, but since dyes aren’t necessary in our food or drugs, they fall under a special rule that forces the FDA to be more cautious if there’s a possibility of risk. There are still eight synthetic dyes that are allowed in the U.S., some of which might be under scrutiny in the coming years. Major companies, including General Mills and Kellogg’s, previously vowed to remove artificial dyes from their products, but the self-determined deadlines for that have passed, and both still use artificial coloring.
L.A. is still burning. It’s an unprecedented climate disaster in the U.S. It hits home because everyone knows someone, or at least of someone, in L.A. Each day, we look at the fire maps, which show burn areas, evacuation zones, and fire weather predictions. The areas at risk have one crucial thing in common: they’re on the edges of the city, where urban areas nestle against wilderness. These beautiful areas are why places like the Pacific Palisades and Altadena are so beloved, with gorgeous views and access to hiking trails. It’s also why they’re at such high risk - fires start in the forests but can spread down to the homes below.
This is where it becomes impossible to ignore the parallels between wildfires and pandemics.
Like wildfires, pandemics often start where humans live on the edge of forests. Novel pathogens spread from bats, rats, monkeys, or other critters to the humans that are now their neighbors. A man eats a fruit that a bat previously munched on, a child touches a dead animal they find on the path, a family forgets to replace the cover on their water tank, and it becomes contaminated with bat droppings. Especially when humans encroach on land that used to be wild, the risk for spillover events increases. This is how Ebola and Marburg outbreaks started in places like Guinea, Uganda, DRC, and Angola, but also mirrors the origin stories of Nipah virus in Malaysia and Hendra in Australia.
When humans live on the edge of forests, and especially when they encroach on areas that used to be wild, the risk of spillover events - and wildfires - increases.
Living on the edge has always been a draw for humans. But it’s also where we come closest to the dangers that wild places hold—sparks that can ignite a blaze or pathogens that can fuel a pandemic. If we’re going to make these edges home, we need to be smarter about how we live there—so the next spark or spillover doesn’t become a disaster.
Sources: ProPublica, NY Times