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This week, we’re seeing a major uptick in news stories about vector-borne diseases. Everything from Dr. Fauci being hospitalized from West Nile, to a rare mosquito-borne disease closing parks in Massachusetts. But another major issue to consider this summer are ticks, whose geographical range is expanding even as their season gets longer due to warmer winters. Ticks are best known for Lyme disease but can carry over 20 different diseases, including the potentially deadly Rocky Mountain spotted fever and the much-dreaded alpha-gal syndrome, which causes a sudden onset meat allergy. You should be worried about ticks when spending time outdoors, especially in grassy and wooded areas (or if your dog does, too). Any outdoor workers may be exposed to ticks on the job, as well. Prevention is key: consider insecticide-treated clothing and proper repellants (many natural ones don’t work!). Wear long pants and tall socks, ideally light colored to better see ticks, and do a thorough check after coming inside. If you do find a tick, remove it promptly - most infections happen after a tick has been feeding for a little while, so quickly removing them makes a big difference!Source: YLE
We’re glad to report that there’s not been as much news on the bird flu front lately, which is why you may see it bouncing between having its own section in this newsletter and being incorporated into more general health news. That may be in part due to limited testing, but still indicates a slowdown in the spread between dairy herds. That’s not to say that bird flu isn’t still a major pandemic risk. At any minute, a mutation may occur that allows it to spread easily between humans, and then we’d have a major pandemic risk in the U.S.. But Dr. Mike Osterholm, who has studied H5N1 for decades, thinks that there’s something about this virus that makes it pretty unsuccessful in transferring to humans. We’ve seen a number of animal outbreaks like this one over the years that threaten to spill over into humans but don’t manage to mutate to cause serious human-to-human spread. That’s not to say that we don’t need to be prepared for a flu pandemic - some sort of influenza pandemic is very likely to occur again within our lifetimes. H5N1 still might be that flu pandemic if it mutates, especially since it appears to be on track to become endemic in cows and other livestock, which creates more opportunities for mixing with human viruses. We’re not holding our breath waiting for this one to be the next big one, but we are taking time to make pandemic prep plans for an influenza outbreak so that we’re prepared no matter what. If your team needs help writing or updating your flu pandemic preparedness plan, ZHH can help - just let us know!Sources: Osterholm Update