CDC Update:

• On Friday afternoon, the CDC removed its 5-day isolation guidance for COVID. 

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To read ZHH's breakdown of what this means for our clients and our work exclusion recommendations, click here.

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Join us Thursday for a free webinar:

Join Roslyn Stone from ZHH, Traci Slowinski from McDonald’s, and Shelly Wallingford from First Watch discussing norovirus with NEHA.

Hope to see you there on Thursday, March 7th at 12pm Eastern (9 am Pacific).

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Register here:

https://neha.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZEqduGhpj0uE90pXzBnZbGGnD45jZrBaFXB#/registration

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Health News:

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• The human health impacts of climate-related disasters is drastically undercounted, a new study says. (NPR)
• Most pet dog diarrhea contains multidrug-resistant E. coli bacteria. (CIDRAP)
• Travelers from the US should get the chikungunya vaccine if they’re going to a country with an outbreak. (CIDRAP)
• A DOT proposal aims to boost protections for disabled travelers. (USA Today)
• A Shigella outbreak primarily among the homeless population in Santa Cruz County, CA is up to 27 cases and growing. (KSBW)
• Reports of widespread norovirus nationally continue. (CBS)
• Scientists have used cells from amniotic fluid to grow new mini-lungs and other organs for use in medical research. (Yahoo)
• Michigan has two more measles cases. (Fox)
• Trader Joe’s recalled millions of soup dumplings which may contain hard plastic pieces. (WBAL)
• The first over-the-counter birth control pill begins shipping nationwide today. (AP)
• Free COVID tests from the federal government will be suspended due to lower viral activity, with option to return if cases spike. (The Hill)
• The US is up to 41 measles cases right now. (CIDRAP)
• Brazil is in a state of emergency with over a million dengue cases so far this year. (NPR)

Mental Health & Substance Use News:

• California residents vote today on a statewide proposition with a goal of overhauling the state mental health system. (Axios)
• One CO group helps people seeking treatment for substance use disorder by temporarily housing their pets while they’re away. (CBS)
• Deaths from alcohol-related liver disease are rising, especially in women. (NY Times)
• More people stick with opioid treatment when it’s covered by insurance. (Fierce Healthcare)

If you or someone you know may be considering suicide or need help, call 988 or message the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741. 

Best Questions:

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What happens now if someone tests positive for COVID after developing symptoms? 

The new CDC guidelines for when to stay home while sick with respiratory illness are totally symptoms-based, and aren’t different for a positive test anymore. Whether yout test positive for COVID or flu or RSV, or notably, even if you don’t, the guidelines are the same and based on what symptoms you’re having. Ultimately, CDC says that employees can return to work after testing positive for COVID if their symptoms are improving and they have been fever-free for 24 hours without meds. The new guidelines do suggest that those people wear masks for at least 5 days along with other precautionary measures including increasing ventilation and airflow and physical distancing. In order to make these recommendations actionable for businesses, we recommend that those with moderate to severe COVID symptoms or a positive COVID, flu or RSV test stay home for 3 days, and can return after that as long as they are fever-free for at least 24 hours without fever-reducing meds, have no respiratory or GI symptoms, and their other symptoms are improving. 

Source: CDC, ZHH

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Why are health departments so quick to publicly name our business in measles exposure cases? 

We’ve seen this in multiple cases this year. A guest, often an unvaccinated child, enters your business (even for a short period of time) and shortly after they’re diagnosed with measles. The Health Department notifies you that your business will be identified as one of the places that people were exposed, but before you have time to prep a comms plan or talk to your team, it’s all over the local news and city website. There’s some clinical reason for this: if an unvaccinated person can get vaccinated within 72 hours of exposure, they can be protected and don’t need to isolate. It’s also important for the community to be on the lookout for signs of measles and seek prompt medical attention if they or their child has any, especially since measles is incredibly contagious. Rather than focusing on trying to make the health department slow down, we recommend that our clients start preparing now. Work with your PR or Communications team to prepare media talking points (or instructions not to talk to the media), internal team talking points, and an action plan if your business is named as one with measles exposure. 

Source: CDC

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What action can we take if a guest entered our premises with measles? 

If you find out that a guest entered your business premises while infectious with measles, you can assume that your name will be on the local news shortly. Act fast to loop in the important players on your team, including Zero Hour Health. Get good information to your team members quickly (their risk is low if they’re vaccinated; ZHH can help with talking points if you need them). Loop in your communications or PR team early to decide how to respond. Remember that you’re likely not the only business this person visited, and there’s very little you’ll actually be able to do to respond from a clinical perspective. Instead, this more about getting out ahead of misinformation or rumors, and reassuring guests and employees alike. If you do have any unvaccinated employees, you should encourage them to get an MMR vaccine as soon as possible - ideally within 72 hours of exposure to protect against measles - and, perhaps more pressing for some workers, to reduce the chances that the health department will require them to stay out of work for 21 days. 

Source: ZHH, CDC

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What diseases can we get from our pets? How can we prevent that? 

Two major health news stories lately ended up tracing back to pet cats: a human plague case and the first known human death from the relatively new Alaskavirus. In both cases, pet cats likely killed a small rodent that was infected with the virus, and then passed it to their owner. Meanwhile, there’s an ongoing Salmonella outbreak linked to small turtles, and another one last year was linked to bearded dragons. Backyard chickens also carry a variety of diseases, including Salmonella.  There are steps you can take to prevent getting diseases from your pets. Don’t allow your cats to hunt rodents in the wild, and follow proper wound care if you get scratched. If you have a turtle, bearded dragon, frog, or lizard, know that they often carry harmful bacteria. Wash your hands thoroughly after handling your pets.

Source: CNN

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Best Read:

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Post-pandemic vaccine hesitancy fueling latest measles outbreak - Roll Call

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