this post was submitted on 27 Dec 2024
132 points (98.5% liked)

Health - Resources and discussion for everything health-related

2401 readers
300 users here now

Health: physical and mental, individual and public.

Discussions, issues, resources, news, everything.

See the pinned post for a long list of other communities dedicated to health or specific diagnoses. The list is continuously updated.

Nothing here shall be taken as medical or any other kind of professional advice.

Commercial advertising is considered spam and not allowed. If you're not sure, contact mods to ask beforehand.

Linked videos without original description context by OP to initiate healthy, constructive discussions will be removed.

Regular rules of lemmy.world apply. Be civil.

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Summary

The CDC identified rare mutations in the bird flu virus from the first severe U.S. human case, found in a Louisiana resident over 65 with severe respiratory illness.

The mutations, located in the hemagglutinin (HA) gene responsible for cell attachment, differ from those in local backyard flock samples and align with severe cases seen abroad.

The patient was infected with the D1.1 genotype, recently found in U.S. wild birds and poultry, not the B3.13 genotype seen in humans and livestock elsewhere.

The CDC states no person-to-person transmission occurred, and public risk remains low.

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] Bsher8365@lemmy.world 20 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

Get those N95 masks now, folks - by summer, it’s back to mask shortages once again.

EDIT: BTW, stay away from the KN95 (aka, Chinese standards) being sold everywhere and get the more effective N95 NIOSH (aka, US standards) masks

[–] Rhaedas@fedia.io 12 points 1 day ago

KF94 made in South Korea are also a good choice because they are better regulated than the KN from China, and they fit many faces better. The key is to verify the manufacturer as well as get a mask that fits your face well. You shouldn't feel any air escaping from around the outside seal. This also means you should wear the mask properly - I've seen plenty of people will all sorts of masks including N95 that are loose or even exposing the nose...or worse, them pulling the mask away to talk because it muffles them. Why bother wearing anything if you don't actually use it right?

[–] zephorah@lemm.ee 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

N95 requires a proper fit test to be effective against airborne microbes. Even if it feels like it fits, you won’t know if you can achieve a proper seal on that size/type mask without a fit test.

If you have facial hair, it would be highly unusual to ever achieve a seal on an N95 mask, which is why those workers wear air fed whole head masks with attached power units called PAPR or CAPR. These also require training to achieve proper fit/use.

The standard double cartridge, reusable 3M mask can, with the right cartridges, protect you from others but the exhale valve allows you to breathe your own microbes into the world for everyone else to enjoy. These masks also require fit testing to be effective.

KN95 are used in hospital at a threat stage level prior to N95, depending on internal threat assessment grading, per internal hospital policy, by some hospitals.

Also of note, many isolation products used in hospitals are made in China. It’s not unusual to open a box or a wrapper to put a piece of this gear on and have a Chinese character stamped square of paper fall out. What vetting process is used for any of said gear is unknown.

All of that said, standard isolation for standard flu in a hospital is an internally approved surgical mask, unless a CPAP, BiPAP, or nebulizer is in use.

Using a CPAP, BiPAP, or nebulizer makes everything you have, respiratory wise, airborne for a while, during and after use. And I’m a random nobody spouting off on the internet who should not be listened to about anything important, which also applies to the guy posting ahead of me.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 2 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

All masks require a fit test to be sure they are working properly.

You won't be allowed to use any authorized mask without a fit test if it's in a mandatory work setting.

[–] zephorah@lemm.ee 1 points 22 hours ago (1 children)

Fit tests are not conducted on any but the N95 type and other airborne gear.

[–] NotMyOldRedditName@lemmy.world 2 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

That's just flat out not true.

A location might not accept anything but a fit test on a n95 mask, but you can walk into any place and have them do a test.

I got fit tested for a n95 when I wanted to do air travel, and they said they could test my KF94 as well, they just couldn't offer a certificate to use it anywhere.

The other masks don't just magically have a 100% fit rate, and if you really wanted to know if it fits at all you can get it checked.