[Health] The Infectious Diseases Thread

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 9:52 pm

President of Iran may get it as the lady who sat next to him recently has it now. I wonder if the Muslims who pack themselves like sardines and run around the Borg cube will all get it?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 9:56 pm

That's MERS.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:05 pm

Isgrimnur wrote: Thu Feb 27, 2020 9:56 pm That's MERS.

Yep, Iran is fucked. Have you ever tried their cuisine WITHOUT the requisite camel urine? Although I suppose pasteurized camel urine would still make it tolerable.

Holman · Post by **Holman** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:36 pm

Daehawk wrote: Thu Feb 27, 2020 9:52 pm President of Iran may get it as the lady who sat next to him recently has it now. I wonder if the Muslims who pack themselves like sardines and run around the Borg cube will all get it?

Dude. Just don't.

Can you think of any contexts where Americans pack themselves into close contact and yell and sweat all over each other for a few hours? Any at all?

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:50 pm

Holman wrote: Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:36 pm Can you think of any contexts where Americans pack themselves into close contact and yell and sweat all over each other for a few hours? Any at all?

Democratic presidential debates? Yeah, those aged fossils are fuct.

gameoverman · Post by **gameoverman** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 11:14 pm

Holman wrote: Thu Feb 27, 2020 10:36 pm
Daehawk wrote: Thu Feb 27, 2020 9:52 pm President of Iran may get it as the lady who sat next to him recently has it now. I wonder if the Muslims who pack themselves like sardines and run around the Borg cube will all get it?
Dude. Just don't.

Can you think of any contexts where Americans pack themselves into close contact and yell and sweat all over each other for a few hours? Any at all?

We don't have a Borg cube though, but when the Raiders stadium in Vegas opens that deficiency will be corrected.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Thu Feb 27, 2020 11:43 pm

South Korea coronavirus cases surpass 2,000

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 12:04 am

msduncan wrote: Thu Feb 27, 2020 8:52 pm So..... the Pope might have it.

Thoughts & prayers.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 2:13 am

Well, Tokyo wants to cancel the Olympics, big players have pulled out of GDC, Madrid's Telcom show is canceled, and Facebook is gonna cancel F8 in May.

Moat_Man · Post by **Moat_Man** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 2:50 am

Kasey Chang wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2020 2:13 am Well, Tokyo wants to cancel the Olympics, big players have pulled out of GDC, Madrid's Telcom show is canceled, and Facebook is gonna cancel F8 in May.

Are you saying Facebook is going to make me remove the F8 key from my keyboard in May?

Victoria Raverna · Post by **Victoria Raverna** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 5:05 am

Looking with the February 28's new cases outside China, South Korea, Italy and Iran. It looks like all those cases are from people returning from South Korea, Italy and Iran.

https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/

abr · Post by **abr** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 5:58 am

hitbyambulance wrote: Wed Feb 26, 2020 5:36 pm has anyone's place of employ issued a CoViD-19 contingency plan yet?

Yes, yesterday morning we got an email from HR. Aside from basic precautions, the major points were: No business trips and work from home until further notice. For reference, this is a smaller company (~50 employees) in Germany.

abr · Post by **abr** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 6:00 am

LawBeefaroni wrote: Thu Feb 27, 2020 7:51 am Good news, everybody! You can keep the toothbrush moustache!

That's called a 'Hitler Bärtchen' over here, btw.

Archinerd · Post by **Archinerd** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 9:57 am

I've started clipping newspaper headlines and glueing them to the walls in my basement.
Movies have taught me that this will allow me to provide a solution, and develop a cure to save humanity.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 10:02 am

Archinerd wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2020 9:57 am I've started clipping newspaper headlines and glueing them to the walls in my basement.
Movies have taught me that this will allow me to provide a solution, and develop a cure to save humanity.

Crap. You messed up. You need pins, not glue. That way you can yarn them together with different colors for different similarties for clearer thinking.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 10:25 am

Anecdote: 5-10% of the people at the airport in ATL are wearing masks today.

Unagi · Post by **Unagi** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 10:42 am

Daehawk wrote: Thu Feb 27, 2020 8:00 pm All Ive learned today is the workers who came into contact with the quarantined folk were not trained and had no protective gear so it will be like The Stand and infect us all and that the DOW dropped 1200 points and they all clapped at the closing bell. Never understood the clapping on a bad day. Yay we lost billions..good job us.

They sold.
Made money.
And are in a great position to buy cheap stocks.

em2nought · Post by **em2nought** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 2:33 pm

Archinerd wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2020 9:57 am I've started clipping newspaper headlines and glueing them to the walls in my basement.
Movies have taught me that this will allow me to provide a solution, and develop a cure to save humanity.

Posthumously of course.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 2:41 pm

stessier wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2020 10:25 am Anecdote: 5-10% of the people at the airport in ATL are wearing masks today.

I flew from IAH to LGA last night. 0% with masks at airport or on flight. Texans be like YOLO!

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 2:42 pm

stessier wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2020 10:25 am Anecdote: 5-10% of the people at the airport in ATL are wearing masks today.

I was a little surprised that I didn't see a single person at the Albuquerque airport yesterday wearing one.

That dude who kept coughing and sniffling was sure getting the stink-eye though.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 2:46 pm

Smoove B wan Canoe vbie, you're my only hope. Tell me what to think.

https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/dog-te ... ion-in-pet

HONG KONG - The pet dog of a coronavirus patient was placed in quarantine on Wednesday after testing "weak positive" for the virus in Hong Kong, according to a government press release on Friday.

If confirmed, it would mark the first case of the virus in a pet animal, as infected numbers topped 82,000 worldwide on Friday...

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 2:53 pm

Regarding facemasks, via the CDC:

CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.

Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a health care facility).

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 3:01 pm

LordMortis wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2020 2:46 pm If confirmed, it would mark the first case of the virus in a pet animal, as infected numbers topped 82,000 worldwide on Friday...

It's interesting, but as the article indicates it's possibly just contamination from being in close contact with the human. There are coronoviruses that can impact dogs, but I'm not aware of any that can be passed to humans.

On the other hand, it's not *completely* impossible for the virus to jump species. With all influenza viruses originating in water fowl, then jumping to pigs then to us, nature has a way about her.

I remember when West Nile Virus erupted here in NJ and then nationwide, we were all rather surprised to eventually find the virus in all kinds of interesting animal species other than just humans, crows and mosquitoes. Namely alligators (!) dogs, cats, bats and chipmunks. This could be the same thing - the virus goes into the dog and it's just a "dead end" host, i.e. not a source of infection or concern to humans.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 3:28 pm

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2020 3:01 pm the virus goes into the dog and it's just a "dead end" host, i.e. not a source of infection or concern to humans.

The label "dead end" host does not have the reassuring effect you intend it to.

gameoverman · Post by **gameoverman** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 4:39 pm

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2020 2:53 pm Regarding facemasks, via the CDC:

CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.

Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a health care facility).

Um, I hate to break it to them but a lot of people, and I mean A LOT, are wearing masks to protect themselves. They don't care if they are infecting others or not. They are wearing masks because they believe some protection is better than none. It's the 'someone needs to do something' syndrome. In this case wearing a mask is 'doing something' to protect yourself, even if it's actually a worthless protection against this virus. There are probably countries, like Japan, where people will wear a mask for the benefit of others but that's not happening around here.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 4:40 pm

gameoverman wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2020 4:39 pm
Smoove_B wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2020 2:53 pm Regarding facemasks, via the CDC:

CDC does not recommend that people who are well wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases, including COVID-19.

Facemasks should be used by people who show symptoms of COVID-19 to help prevent the spread of the disease to others. The use of facemasks is also crucial for health workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings (at home or in a health care facility).

Um, I hate to break it to them but a lot of people, and I mean A LOT, are wearing masks to protect themselves.

Um, I hate to break it to you, but I think they know that and that is the reason they're issuing this type of recommendation.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 4:46 pm

Exactly. People are going out of their minds trying to get masks and the reality is they have limited, specific use. Hand washing and social distancing are your best options. Save the masks for the situations detailed above and keep them in supply/available for those that need it.

EDIT: Also, no need to get nutty with cleaning products:

“Standard cleaning products that will kill other viruses will be presumptively fine against [SARS-CoV-2],” says Dr. Aaron Glatt, chief of infectious disease at Mount Sinai South Nassau in New York. Still, Glatt notes that as this is a new virus, “we obviously don’t have a ton of data on it.” And an important caveat is products must be used correctly.

...

“In general, we only really need to wipe down things when we think they may have become contaminated,” Martinello says. “I wouldn’t recommend anything beyond routine cleaning in a typical household.” The exception, of course, is if someone in your house is diagnosed with or suspected to have COVID-19; in that case, Martinello says, you should try to designate a bathroom just for their use, and wipe down surfaces they touch frequently.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 5:11 pm

It's far more important to wash hands properly. And if you haven't been formally taught how to wash your hands in the past decade or so, don't assume you are doing it properly.

If people would just spend as much time and effort washing their hands as they did looking for stuff to buy to save them, they'd be far better off.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 5:13 pm

social distancing are your best options.

I am the healthiest!!!!! Stay out of my filthy house!

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 5:20 pm

What will be will be. Stop worrying so much.

gameoverman · Post by **gameoverman** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 5:23 pm

I don't wear a mask, I'm not advocating for mask wearing. What I'm saying is people have already made up their minds what they are going to do to protect themselves. The CDC and anyone else can suggest extra steps to take but the people I'm talking about will ignore any instructions to stop doing what they have already decided is a good move. In other words:
"Don't forget to wash your hands often in addition to whatever else you're doing"- people will listen
"Don't bother wearing masks, instead wash your hands often and..."- gets ignored

Authorities have a credibility issue with a lot of people. My own parents refused to listen to any swine flu recommendations back when that was a thing, because they didn't trust that the government wasn't screwing people over one way or another with it. That was in the '70s, government credibility hasn't increased since then.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 5:30 pm

gameoverman wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2020 5:23 pmAuthorities have a credibility issue with a lot of people. My own parents refused to listen to any swine flu recommendations back when that was a thing, because they didn't trust that the government wasn't screwing people over one way or another with it. That was in the '70s, government credibility hasn't increased since then.

Public health absolutely has trust and credibility issues. Those issues are currently being compounded by things being discussed in R&P. The best we can do is blanket the airwaves (metaphorical) with correct information and hope that your local officials are giving you the same information.

Maybe your parents are more into trusting TikTok?

https://www.tiktok.com/@thetelegraph/vi ... 9178307846

EDIT: Fret forgive me

em2nought · Post by **em2nought** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 5:40 pm

I'm going to take advantage of the situation and place a transaction window in my office door. No more humans with germs in my office, they can make payments via the window. Meanwhile I'll point out that there is a perfectly functional kiosk right beside the door, and they can do everything without needing human interaction. I plan to produce some really good coughing and nose blowing while pointing this out to reinforce the idea of self service. The people who still resist will get fake snot on their receipts, gotta check if amazon sells fake snot.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 6:16 pm

Coronavirus bad for beer.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/cornavirus ... ach-other/

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 6:20 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2020 5:11 pm It's far more important to wash hands properly. And if you haven't been formally taught how to wash your hands in the past decade or so, don't assume you are doing it properly.

If people would just spend as much time and effort washing their hands as they did looking for stuff to buy to save them, they'd be far better off.

Great. My formal handwashing training was 20 years ago (part of a comprehensive biohazard training program), and now you're making me doubt myself.

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 6:34 pm

Courtesy of the CDC:

CDC.gov wrote:Follow Five Steps to Wash Your Hands the Right Way
Washing your hands is easy, and it’s one of the most effective ways to prevent the spread of germs. Clean hands can stop germs from spreading from one person to another and throughout an entire community—from your home and workplace to childcare facilities and hospitals.

Follow these five steps every time.

Wet your hands with clean, running water (warm or cold), turn off the tap, and apply soap.

Lather your hands by rubbing them together with the soap. Lather the backs of your hands, between your fingers, and under your nails.

Scrub your hands for at least 20 seconds. Need a timer? Hum the “Happy Birthday” song from beginning to end twice.

Rinse your hands well under clean, running water.

Dry your hands using a clean towel or air dry them.

Zaxxon · Post by **Zaxxon** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 6:54 pm

Kidding, but on the masses level--not kidding.

Daehawk · Post by **Daehawk** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 7:27 pm

I wash my hands at home. In town i use my hand sanitizer. No way Im touching a faucet that 100s of others with nasty hands have touched.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 7:47 pm

Dude, don't make me stop this thread and get all Semmelweis on you.

From a study published in 2015:

While 92 percent of Americans believe it's important to wash their hands after using a public restroom, only 66 percent of Americans say they always wash up after using a public restroom. As for washing with soap, nearly 70 percent admit they've skipped the suds and just rinsed with water.

Hand sanitizers are good in an emergency and when you have no other choice. They should not be a go-to option. Nothing - nothing beats running water (it doesn't even need to be hot) and soap.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Fri Feb 28, 2020 7:48 pm

just saw that there's now a contingency policy from the company i'm working at, but since i'm a contractor here, i am not to sign the receipt - they are contacting my contract agency to see what _their_ policy is. so i wrote to my contract agency HR and just now got the response: "Thank you for the information. We do not have a policy at this time. If and when we do, you will be notified." yeah, not surprised.