Tag:
Public Health
The links between temperature, humidity and the spread of coronaviruses have been closely studied by the University of Maryland. According to the study, the Twin Cities of Minnesota are on the northern fringe of theorized location for the greatest potential spread of COVID-19 between now and the end of April.
Laboratories are racing to breed genetically engineered stocks of mice in hopes to answer key questions about COVID-19 and to fast-track potential drugs and vaccines for clinical trials.
TUESDAY, MARCH 10: As the weekend drew to a close, two cases of COVID-19 were identified in Minnesota. With mild symptoms, both individuals are self quarantined.
In our last CAHFS Weekly Update, the topic of stigma, misinformation, and fear was briefly discussed. This was brought to light with the recent outrage about where infected or suspected patients should be quarantined and/or isolated in the US.
Federal officials still cannot say for sure where the blackberries, associated with a Hepatitis A outbreak leading to 20 lab confirm cases, came from. More than half of the 20 cases have required hospitalization according to the CDC.
Global fears of the 2019 novel coronavirus pneumonia (COVID-19) have led to worldwide shortages of surgical masks and N95 respirators. Several Amazon suppliers are upselling face masks in response to increased demand.
As news and updates of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) rapidly evolve, so do misinformation, fear, and confusion. Dr. Rose Marie Leslie, a family medicine physician at the University of Minnesota, uses social media to combat false health information spread through popular social media platforms.
While the cost to human health and lives is the most pressing concern of outbreaks, the economic costs of outbreaks of disease can be astronomical too. The SARS epidemic of 2002-2003, which infected 8,000 people and caused approximately 800 deaths, caused an estimated $50 billion in damage to the global economy. The Ebola outbreak in West Africa in 2014 cost the global economy approximately $53 billion.
Illness from a new coronavirus started appearing among people who were exposed to wildlife in Wuhan, China in January. Like SARS and MERS, the virus seems to be able to cause a range of illness from only mild flu symptoms to serious pneumonia, systemic disease, and death.