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#influenza
queeroldweapon · 3 months
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It’s cold/flu/covid season again, please wear your goddam masks and get vaccinated if you’re able to
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reasonsforhope · 8 months
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"A team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a real-time air monitor that can detect any of the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants that are present in a room in about 5 minutes.
The proof-of-concept device was created by researchers from the McKelvey School of Engineering and the School of Medicine at Washington University...
The results are contained in a July 10 publication in Nature Communications that provides details about how the technology works.
The device holds promise as a breakthrough that - when commercially available - could be used in hospitals and health care facilities, schools, congregate living quarters, and other public places to help detect not only the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but other respiratory virus aerosol such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) as well.
“There is nothing at the moment that tells us how safe a room is,” Cirrito said, in the university’s news release. “If you are in a room with 100 people, you don’t want to find out five days later whether you could be sick or not. The idea with this device is that you can know essentially in real time, or every 5 minutes, if there is a live virus in the air.”
How It Works
The team combined expertise in biosensing with knowhow in designing instruments that measure the toxicity of air. The resulting device is an air sampler that operates based on what’s called “wet cyclone technology.” Air is sucked into the sampler at very high speeds and is then mixed centrifugally with a fluid containing a nanobody that recognizes the spike protein from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. That fluid, which lines the walls of the sampler, creates a surface vortex that traps the virus aerosols. The wet cyclone sampler has a pump that collects the fluid and sends it to the biosensor for detection of the virus using electrochemistry.
The success of the instrument is linked to the extremely high velocity it generates - the monitor has a flow rate of about 1,000 liters per minute - allowing it to sample a much larger volume of air over a 5-minute collection period than what is possible with currently available commercial samplers. It’s also compact - about one foot wide and 10 inches tall - and lights up when a virus is detected, alerting users to increase airflow or circulation in the room.
Testing the Monitor
To test the monitor, the team placed it in the apartments of two Covid-positive patients. The real-time air samples from the bedrooms were then compared with air samples collected from a virus-free control room. The device detected the RNA of the virus in the air samples from the bedrooms but did not detect any in the control air samples.
In laboratory experiments that aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 into a room-sized chamber, the wet cyclone and biosensor were able to detect varying levels of airborne virus concentrations after only a few minutes of sampling, according to the study.
“We are starting with SARS-CoV-2, but there are plans to also measure influenza, RSV, rhinovirus and other top pathogens that routinely infect people,” Cirrito said. “In a hospital setting, the monitor could be used to measure for staph or strep, which cause all kinds of complications for patients. This could really have a major impact on people’s health.”
The Washington University team is now working to commercialize the air quality monitor."
-via Forbes, July 11, 2023
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Holy shit. I know it's still early in the technology and more testing will inevitably be needed but holy shit.
Literally, if it bears out, this could revolutionize medicine. And maybe let immunocompromised people fucking go places again
Also, for those who don't know, Nature Communications is a very prestigious scientific journal that focuses on Pretty Big Deal research. Their review process is incredibly rigorous. This is an absolutely HUGE credibility boost to this research and prototype
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ollyvoile · 4 months
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Add your reasons, if you like!
Other people have added these:
• Yellow fever @notoverjoyed
• Scurvy @monitorchakas
• Lymph disease @wyrmalien
• Diphtheria ( I couldn’t fit this one)
• Malaria “ye olde marsh fever” @bombadilbaddie
• Scrofula “The King’s Evil” @hasturswig
Edit for all the people telling me “uhhh tuberculosis still exists”: I know! :) In fact, all of these sicknesses still exist. In the modern world we live in, however, most of these are only prevalent in developing countries, and certainly not to the extent they once were.
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disease · 14 days
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Making the vaccine against the Influenza Outbreak of 1957.
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Alright, due to popular request, I bring you the break down of the Taiwan Disease Personifications. Also, just so y’all know, the official explanations for the designs are not easy to find, so a lot of this is just from what I notice and what I know about the diseases
To start off, we have everyone’s favorite disease: COVID-19
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So, this is one of the designs where I could actually find the artist explanation, so I will be including that information plus a couple things I noticed and how I think it fits the disease. So let’s start with to crown. The reason for the inclusion of the crown is the reflect the name coronavirus, corona being the Latin word for crown. The face is partially obscured because of COVID’s tendency to hide itself. The bean bag chair that they are sitting on has many protrusions signifying the spike proteins. The different digital devices represent how the world went virtual during the pandemic and the news channels behind them represent the media’s freak out when COVID was at its height. The floor has an outline of the world because everywhere was affected by the pandemic. Also, if you look closely, they are wearing little Covid earrings.
Next up, we got Zika:
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I could not find an official artist statement for this design, so take my explanation with a grain of salt. So first off the red waist band reminds me of the red stripe that goes down the abdomen of the mosquito species that spreads Zika after it has fed. Also, the white markings on the black are also a characteristic of this species of mosquito. In fact, the design is the stripes on the chest look like the markings these mosquitoes have on their back. She presents female because it’s the female mosquitoes that bite and spread diseases. Her sleeves look like mosquito wings once again a reference to mosquitoes being the primary vectors of Zika. The area behind her has palm fronds to represent that Zika is a disease typically found in tropical climates.
Next up we have: Hansen’s Disease (aka Leprosy)
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This is one where I could find the artist statement due to it being a pretty recent one, however, I will say that at least the translation was a bit lacking in describing the reasoning of every detail. She is a mask maker because leprosy changes how people perceive those who are infected but it is something that can easily be removed with modern antibiotics. She has different accessories like the lion and crocodile headpiece that implicate the divine involvement because leprosy has been historically thought to be a punishment of the gods. The scales on her arm look like an allusion to the scaling pattern scars that those with leprosy would develop.
Next up: Rubella
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After a lot of digging I found the official profile for this design but it didn’t really explain the design choices so we are going to do more analysis on my end. So the pomegranate and the red dots represent the red rashes that come with rubella infections. The glasses I assume are to show how Rubella can lead to Congenital Rubella Syndrome (CRS) which can occur in children if their mother had rubella while pregnant. One of the symptoms that comes with CRS is cataracts.
Next up: the plague
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I found the explanation on this and it just confirmed my own suspicions for certain design choices. So her design is very focused on death and mysticism because of how the Black Plague led to a lot of cultural focus on these two ideas. Behind her are old coins because of the economic impact the plague had on the civilizations of its time. The references to death are the skeletal pattern on her dress, and the scythe behind her and on her belt. The references to mysticism include the tarot cards she is holding and the crosses on her hat. On the tarot cards are designs referencing the three different forms the plague takes (bubonic, septicemic, and pneumonic) as well as a posey which was used to try to ward of the plague in old times. On her hat is also a collection of plague doctor masks which is pretty self explanatory as to how that connects.
Next up: Ebola
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I couldn’t find the official explanation for this disease, so this is mostly speculation based on my analysis. Her outfit is red because of the hemorrhaging that comes with the disease. Specifically he lips are red because one of the more unique characteristics of Ebola is hiccuping up blood. The accessories seem to be inspired by central and western african traditional jewelry. There appear to be tribal masks on the necklace, I am not well versed in African art unfortunately, so any deeper meaning of these accessories are unfortunately lost on me. There are bats on the headdress because of bats being the natural host of Ebola. Her design is rather demonic because Ebola was so terrible for the areas affected, that people thought it could be caused be some great evil. The skulls are because of the extremely high death rate that comes with ebola. The leaves and fruits shown come from the African jungles which is typically where Ebola outbreaks start.
Next up: Novel Influenza A Virus Infections
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I actually found the artist explanation for this design! As a disease closely associated with birds, there are many elements linked to birds. There are many bird shadows, the hair that looks like feathers, and the beak shaped mask, feathers on his tie and a feather tattoo on right arm, and the “H-N” pin (H and N proteins of the influenza virus).
Next up: Dengue Fever
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Another one with an artist statement! Since only female mosquitoes bite, the character is set as a female. Her dark red lips represent mosquito’s instinct to bite, and she is holding a poisonous thornapple flower. She has mosquito wings tattooed on her back and thornapple flower tattooed on her arm. I have spent a long time looking into how the thornapple flower relates to dengue, but I haven’t had a lot of luck. From what I have seen is that the roots, seeds, and leaves are used in some traditional medicines, including treatments for malaria, but I have not had luck finding how it is connected to Dengue specifically.
Next up: Japanese Encephalitis
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I found the artist statement for this disease as well. The disease is visualized into three characters that form a pop group, with their names reflecting the 3 main Culex mosquito species that spread Japanese encephalitis in Taiwan, which are Culex tritaeniorhynchus (Three), Culex annulus (Ring), and Culex fuscocephala (Shiro). They wear black and white, like the colors of the Culex mosquitoes. Red accessories represent their love for blood. I don’t have much to add outside of the artist explanation.
Last one for now is: Rabies
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I found the explanation for this one, but it is not descriptive at all, so I am going to be going into every detail because this is Rabies. The spikes on the jacket and pant legs represent the protein spikes rabies uses to infect nerves. The blue jacket and gloves are representing water as one of the unique characteristics of rabies is hydrophobia (physical repulsion to water). The claw marks on the shirt show the animalistic tendencies the virus brings out. The violin players in the animal mask show how the virus can hide in these animals. The personification of rabies is holding a conductor’s wand showing how rabies controls those who are infected. The teeth necklace shows how it spreads through bites and they are standing on the brain because that is what rabies infects. He has a chain with mammal skulls once again tying back to rabies being a fatal mammalian disease. The belt buckle has a bone on it as bone are associated with bones and rabies is associated with dogs.
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nobrashfestivity · 1 year
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Kirstine Roepstorff THE ARCHIVE OF DARK
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mosteviltf2enjoyer · 2 months
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Hey sorry if this is too negative or random, but could you please draw one of the TF2 characters punching shit up? I'm really stressed and angry over a bad haircut that's giving me a lot of dysphoria. Maybe seeing one of the guys bashing a wall in will help me hahaha.
Also hope you're having a good day :]
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omg i totally forgot i had an ask box!! im so sorry ur having a bad day but just know ur ask totally made mine :) made these in a flu induced haze lol
sorry abt ur hair cut the best thing about hair tho is that it grows back :)
i love you!,!, good night
(also can you tell ive never worked out a day in my life lol)
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gwydionmisha · 1 year
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It is insane to me that I see so few people wearing masks outside of medical contexts.  COVID is ressurging, this is an extra severe influenza season, and R.S.V is rampant enough that pediatric hospital beds are full up in a lot of places.
People here were so good for the longest time about masking, but it’s less than 50-50 for cashiers and most shoppers don’t bother except medically fragile people like me and the people with them.  I don’t want a brand new heart condition.  I don’t want to catch influenza at the best of times, but I emphatically don’t want this strain.  I do not want my breath to hospitalize or kill anyone, especially a child. 
How is this not everyone’s calculation?
I did notice something interesting the other night.  I was on my way somewhere and wearing a mask in the hall as is my wont and I saw an elderly woman coming the other way.  We met and the opening to the lobby and she stopped.  I was momentarily confused, but she gestured for me to go first.
Then it dawned on me.  She wasn’t wearing a mask.  The opening is about five feet so we were about six feet apart.  My mask marks me medically fragile, so she was social distancing.
Driving out of the lot it was like one one of those montages at the end of a mystery movie where all the clues flash past.  When everyone work masks, the cock noses would aggressively crowd one in public.  Last year a lot of people stopped line distancing if they had on masks. 
Since the masks came off, people stopped crowding me for the most part.  The people inside my distancing bubble are the people who came with me and cashiers who can’t help it.
I think I’m watching a new regional social convention evolve and it is very, very Pacific Northwest.  Unobtrusive, collective politeness that no one discussed or promoted, but like 90% of people follow.
It’s like the thing in small sidestreets were parked cars render them one lane and locals take turns using it much like people take turns at stop signs.
People decided anyone wearing a mask needs protection so let’s akll quietly distance.
I love this town, I really do.
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mattsmemes · 1 year
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Health officials in British Columbia say a fourth child has died due to complications related to influenza.
In its weekly respiratory illness update, the B.C. Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) said the death, involving a child under the age of 10, was reported between Jan. 14 and Jan. 20.
Influenza-related deaths refer to fatalities where flu was a contributing factor, but may not be the primary cause of death. Previous flu-related child fatalities have been attributed to secondary bacterial infections related to the virus.
Full article
Tagging: @politicsofcanada
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queern-bn · 1 year
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“Both RSV and influenza [‘the flu’] have increased above seasonal levels, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada's latest FluWatch report.”
Respiratory virus season PSA from your friendly neighbourhood nurse, who would like to remind you to:
Get your flu shot! 💉
Check with your local pharmacy, your family doctor, or your public health authority for availability. If you work in a hospital or with the elderly, flu shots are especially important.
Get your COVID booster if you’re eligible and due for one! 🗓
COVID hasn’t gone away, even if the government would like to pretend it has. Help your immune system — get a bivalent booster shot!
Wash your hands with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand rub! 🙌🏽
Hand hygiene is one of the most effective public health measures we have, so do it regularly at home, work, school, etc. Before you eat, after you use the bathroom, and after contact with high-touch surfaces like railings or doorknobs in public spaces
Stay home if you’re sick 🤒
Keep those germs to yourself if you can. If you have to work or run essential errands, refer to the above and below suggestions!
Wear a mask! 😷
Yes, it’s annoying. Yes, we’ve been doing it for 2.5 years with few breaks. But it’s effective at reducing the spread of germs, and will help keep you, your family and your community safe.
@allthecanadianpolitics
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todaysdocument · 20 days
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Funerals - Grave Scenes - Graves of U.S. Soldiers Who Died of Influenza, Devon, England.
Record Group 165: Records of the War Department General and Special StaffsSeries: American Unofficial Collection of World War I PhotographsFile Unit: Funerals - Grave Scenes
Black and white photograph of rows of white crosses.  Each cross has a small mound in front of it.  Some snow is on the ground.  Bare trees are in the background.
Original caption: GRAVES OF U.S. SOLDIERS WHO DIED OF INFLUENZA. DEVON, ENGLAND Graves of 100 American wounded soldiers at Paignton Military Hospital, Devon, England that died from the epidemic of influenza that spread over England.
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ainawgsd · 1 year
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Jumping off of this post, there is a nationwide shortage on several drugs commonly used for these infections or to treat pneumonia or bacterial infections that can result from these diseases.
Every prescription we fill for liquid amoxicillin, generic Augmentin, and generic Tamiflu pops up an alert to check our stock because there is a nationwide shortage. I cannot order these medications because all of the manufacturers carried by my distributor are on backorder with no release dates.
Right now we are still able to call the prescriber and get the antibiotics switched to one we have (Tamiflu does not have an alternative you're just sol there) but if the shortage carries on long enough I would expect these alternatives will probably start having availability issues as well.
This year is expected to be very bad as far as influenza and, in my area anyway, RSV cases are also really bad. And Covid never went away, despite the general public's popular belief, so naturally we're likely to see an uptick in that as people get complacent.
So yes, do what you can to protect yourself and others. Get your flu and covid shots, wear your mask, and wash your hands.
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yesterdaysprint · 2 years
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Daily Mirror, England, March 13, 1919
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The #ConnectedAtBirth #etymology of the week is FLU/INFLUENCE/FOOLISH #wotd #flu #influenza #influence #fluid #foolish #fool #flushot #vaccination
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whumpster-dumpster · 10 months
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I got a flu like two weeks ago and I have been coughing my lungs out. Even now that the flu is gone I still have my throat sore and everytime i laugh i start coughing. Sometimes it is so bad I cant breath properly and cough so hard that i even threw out once due to the strong abdominal contractions that followed the long session of coughs and laughs
I just thought it would be an interesting idea if someone is too sick that even laughing can almost kill them lol
This is why I love the whump community, even when we're suffering irl we find a purpose in it like, "Write that down, write that down!" I hope you feel better soon though!
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