CDC

CDC drops 14-day self-quarantine recommendation for out-of-state, international travelers

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on Friday dropped its recommendation for travelers to quarantine for 14 days upon returning from trips overseas or out of state during the coronavirus pandemic. The CDC updated its guidelines on its website. Though the two-week recommendation was changed, the federal agency did caution travelers that they can still contract the novel coronavirus while traveling. “You may feel well and not have any symptoms, but you can still spread COVID-19 to others,” the agency warns. “You and your travel companions (including children) may spread COVID-19 to other people including your family, friends, and community for 14 days after you were exposed to the virus.” The CDC recommends travelers wear masks indoors, wash hands, maintain social distancing guidelines, and monitor themselves for symptoms of COVID-19. The CDC states traveling increases your risk of contracting and spreading the virus, noting that staying at home is the best protection from COVID-19 for yourself and others. If you must travel, the federal health agency recommends travelers to check the recommendations on government websites for their destination as well as any places they will be passing through during their trip. Requirements may vary by location, with some requiring those who recently traveled to stay home for two weeks while others may allow a negative COVID-19 test instead of the self-quarantine. If you have plans to travel internationally, the CDC advises researching the country’s Office of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Health to learn about any quarantine requirements.

For more on this new development from the CDC, click on the text above.

Amid coronavirus, more than a third of US adults are using cleaning products incorrectly: CDC study

In trying to prevent the transmission of the novel coronavirus, more than a third of U.S. adults are putting their health at risk by using cleaning products incorrectly, according to a recent report. The report in JAMA stated a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) revealed that 39% of adults in the U.S. reported using cleaning products and disinfectants in potentially dangerous ways while intending to limit exposure to the deadly virus. “Drinking or gargling diluted bleach solutions, soapy water, and other cleaning and disinfectant solutions” was one of the dangerous practices the authors of the survey reported. The survey also found that 19% of respondents applied bleach to food items, such as fruits and vegetables, while 18% used household cleaning and disinfectant products on their hands or skin. Some 10% reported misting their body with a cleaning or disinfectant spray, while 6% said they inhaled vapors from household cleaners or disinfectants. “These practices pose a risk of severe tissue damage and corrosive injury and should be strictly avoided,” the researchers warned. One-quarter of the approximate 502 U.S. adults who participated in the national online survey, which was commissioned by the CDC, experienced adverse reactions to cleaning products or disinfectants. Those effects included lightheadedness, headache and irritation of the eyes, skin, nose and sinuses, as well as nausea and breathing problems. Those who didn’t use the products safely were two times more likely to have detrimental effects than those who did not, according to the report. The survey authors found significant gaps in knowledge surrounding the proper use of cleaning products among the adults surveyed. The largest gaps they found involved keeping hand sanitizers stored away from a child’s reach and how to safely prepare disinfectant and cleaning solutions. The researchers cautioned that “mixing of bleach solutions with vinegar or ammonia, as well as [the] application of heat, can generate chlorine and chloramine gases that might result in severe lung tissue damage when inhaled.” “Furthermore, exposures of children to hand sanitizers, particularly via ingestion, can be associated with irritation of mucous membranes, gastrointestinal effects, and in severe cases, alcohol toxicity,” they added. The study authors also stressed the importance of storing products away from pets. The CDC conducted the survey after U.S. Poison Control Centers saw a surge in calls regarding exposure to household chemicals at the start of the pandemic. The researchers recommended health officials continue to educate the public on safe cleaning techniques as well as advising people to follow directions on the labels of their cleaning products.

Sounds like common sense..  Unfortunately, there are a lot of idiots out there.

Dr. Anthony Fauci: Coronavirus test delay not the fault of CDC or Trump

Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation’s top infectious disease doctor, said President Trump and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) were not to blame for a lack of coronavirus testing kits that has prompted criticism of the administration as cases continue to grow in the United States. Speaking on “The Hugh Hewitt Show” on Tuesday, Fauci — also the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases — was asked about the slow rollout of test kits, saying the delay was due to a “technical glitch” that slowed things down and a series of “multiple things that conflated.” “There [weren’t] any bad guys there. It just happened,” Fauci said. “And then when we realized, when the CDC realized, and the FDA [Food and Drug Administration] said both the system itself as it was set up, which serves certain circumstances very well, was not well-suited to the kind of broad testing that we needed the private sector to get involved in.” “Was the glitch or anything about the production of the test President Trump’s fault?” Hewitt asked. ” Or actually, let me put it more broadly, would every president have run into the same problem?” “Oh, absolutely. This has nothing to do with anybody’s fault, certainly not the president’s fault,” Fauci replied. Trump has come under heavy criticism from Democrats for the shortage of testing kits and for downplaying the severity of the pandemic. At one point, he compared it to the flu. Fauci has said the virus is worse than the flu and that things “will get worse before they get better.” When Trump declared a national emergency last week, he denied any responsibility for the shortage. “No, I don’t take responsibility at all because we were given a set of circumstances and we were given rules, regulations and specifications from a different time,” Trump said during a news conference in the Rose Garden. “It wasn’t meant for this kind of an event.” As of Tuesday, there were more than 6,300 cases recorded in the United States and nearly 100 deaths. To expand testing, Trump announced partnerships with American companies to make kits available. “I believe now that the CDC and the FDA and the department, that we’ve got it right now, because we’re handing much of it over to the private sector to heavy-hitter companies that do this for a living,” Fauci said. “And I think what you’re going to be seeing looking forward is a major, major improvement in the availability of testing.”

Keep this in mind the next time you hear some Democrat politician or liberal media personality at CNN or MSNBC tear into Trump or his administration for how “poorly” they’re handling this issue.  Kudos to Dr. Fauci, who has decades of experience and has served under administrations from BOTH political parties, for being a straight-shooter and calling it as he sees it.  Excellent!!     🙂

Flu has killed 20K Americans including 136 children so far this season, CDC says

The CDC said that so far this season, 34 million people have gotten the flu, and about 20,000 have died. Of those who died as of Feb. 29, 136 were children, the CDC said in its weekly flu report. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said that hospitalization rates among young children were the highest on record, surpassing rates reported during the 2009 pandemic. About 350,000 people have been hospitalized. The CDC said that this year’s flu vaccines have proven to be very well targeted. “Almost all (>99%) of the influenza viruses tested this season are susceptible to the four FDA-approved influenza antiviral medications recommended for use in the U.S. this season,” the agency said in a statement on its website.

Keep these stats in mind as the media continues to create panic over the coronavirus…

CDC facial hair mask advisory recirculates amid coronavirus fears

As safety masks and protective gear fly off the shelves amid fears of a potential coronavirus outbreak in the U.S., a 2017 advisory put out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for men with facial hair who wear tight-fitting respirators is making the rounds again. The graphic, which demonstrates 36 different ways men may style their facial hair, including the “French fork,” “horseshoe,” and “mutton chops,” says that while the “soul patch,” “side whiskers” and “pencil” style are a go, dozens of others may leave you at risk of contamination. Several other styles may also be OK, but only if the chin hair doesn’t cross the mask seal. “Facial hair that lies along the sealing area of a respirator, such as beards, sideburns, or some mustaches, will interfere with respirators that rely on a tight facepiece seal to achieve maximum protection,” the CDC advised in 2017. “Facial hair is a common reason that someone cannot be fit tested. The reason for this is simple – gases, vapors and particles in the air will take the path of least resistance and bypass the part of the respirator that captures or filters hazards out.” Twitter users were delighted by the graphic, but facial hair or not, wearing an every day surgical mask may not keep you 100 percent protected from airborne illnesses such as COVID-19. “Surgical masks will not prevent your acquiring diseases,” Dr. William Schaffner, a professor of preventative medicine and infectious diseases at Vanderbilt University, and the medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, said. He said surgical masks are typically used by surgeons to protect patients from mouth-borne germs, but the masks don’t prevent them from inhaling diseases. In fact, the CDC does not recommend people who are well to wear a facemask to protect themselves from respiratory diseases at this time, and that they should be used only by people who show symptoms of COVID-19. “The use of facemasks is also crucial for health care workers and people who are taking care of someone in close settings,” the health agency said. Over 82,000 people have been sickened by the coronavirus, and 2,812 have died. U.S. officials recently warned that spread at the community level is likely, and is advising Americans to prepare for the event that their area does experience an outbreak. For now, the CDC is advising people to avoid close contact with sick individuals and to avoid touching eyes, nose and mouth. The health agency says to stay home if you are sick, and to cover coughs and sneezes with tissues and to disinfect areas that are frequently touched.

Sound advice.  Guys, click on this link to see that graphic mentioned above: https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/npptl/pdfs/FacialHairWmask11282017-508.pdf

White House officials hope for coronavirus funding deal by next week

The White House and Congress are in “productive” talks on a package to fund the coronavirus response and hope to strike an agreement by early next week, the administration said Friday. “We know that the pace of conversation is accelerating into this weekend,” said Eric Ueland, the White House director for legislative affairs. President Trump told Congress this week he wants to spend $2.5 billion to combat the virus, which has sickened more than 80,000 people across the globe. Members of both parties say that number needs to be higher. White House officials didn’t say where they thought negotiators would land, but Mr. Trump says he’s willing to accept more than his requested amount. He wants to sign a deal not later than the week starting March 9, officials said. Mr. Ueland said he is pleased that Congress hasn’t tried to attach unrelated measures to the bill, saying it’s allowed negotiators to focus. Washington is racing to fund the U.S. response to the virus that’s devastated parts of China, rattle markets and stressed economies and health systems in Italy, South Korea and Iran. While younger, healthier people tend to recover from the illness known as COVID-19, it can lead to respiratory distress, organ failure and death, particularly in older persons or those with underlying health conditions. The U.S. has seen 62 cases on its soil — 47 of them were repatriated from China and Japan, while 14 were discovered among known travelers or their spouses in America. It’s unclear how a 15th patient, a woman hospitalized California, contracted the disease. Mr. Azar said Mr. Trump’s request focuses on boosting the nation’s ability to detect COVID-19, developing a vaccine and therapeutic drugs, providing protective gear to frontline workers and supporting state and local government. Mr. Azar said the administration is prepared to use the Defense Production Act to make sure companies turn out things like N95 respirator masks and protective gowns. “If we need to use it, we will use it,” Mr. Azar said. As nations like Japan close schools to deal with the virus, Mr. Azar said any contingencies in the U.S. will be on a continuum, starting with less intrusive measures to keep people apart before more intensive measures are taken. “Every option needs to be on the table,” Mr. Azar said, responding to a question about potential school closures. “It depends really on what circumstances we end up facing.” On funding, White House officials balked at the idea that Mr. Trump’s request for $2.5 billion lowballed the price tag of the response. They focused on the rest of the fiscal year through September instead of an open-ended, or “no-year,” request like Democratic Sen. Charles E. Schumer’s push for $8.5 billion. Russ Vought, acting director of the Office of Management and Budget, also said he wanted to clear up misconceptions about Mr. Trump’s budget moves in office, saying the media has gotten it wrong. He said Mr. Trump’s fiscal 2021 budget includes a 3% increase for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to combat infectious diseases. The CDC faces an overall reduction due to cuts to things like climate-change research or occupational health research that universities are doing instead, according to Mr. Vought. “It is not true that we cut CDC infectious-disease fighting,” he said. He said additional funding from Congress will be vital, but the administration isn’t running on fumes. “We need a supplemental, we need it soon, there’s no doubt about that,” Mr. Vought said. “But we haven’t run out of money.” Also Friday, Mr. Azar said his agency is “fully investigating” a whistleblower complaint that says HHS employees didn’t take proper precautions in dealing with repatriated Americans who flew into a California military base from places in Asia battered by the coronavirus. “We will take remedial measures if needed,” Mr. Azar said. He said the Office for Children and Families, which was alleged to have broken protocol, will no longer be involved in the coronavirus response since the U.S. does not plan to conduct more repatriation flights.

Not washing your hands after using bathroom worse than eating raw meat, study finds

Experts have revealed that failure to wash hands after leaving the bathroom is more likely to spread drug-resistant E. coli than consuming raw or under-cooked meat. According to the study, the potentially fatal bacterium’s “likeliest route” is through human poop particles, which generally spreads through poor bathroom hygiene. Last year, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention investigated nearly 3,000 cases of Escherichia coli. Researchers pinpoint one type — Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL)-producing E. coli — as one that is particularly difficult to treat. “Rather — and unpalatably — the likeliest route of transmission for ESBL-E.coli is directly from human to human, with fecal particles from one person reaching the mouth of another,” said University of East Anglia professor David Livermore, whose study is published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases journal. ESBL-E. coli live in the intestines of humans and animals, much of which is harmless. However, some strains can cause symptoms of food poisoning such as diarrhea and vomiting, urinary tract infections and, more concerning, blood infections. Livermore and his colleagues in the UK tested samples of beef, pork and chicken and analyzed those results against samples of human feces, sewerage and blood. They discovered that strains between the human samples were similar, but different from those found in animals. They say this indicates there is “little crossover” of ESBL-E. coli between humans and animals, said Livermore, meaning it’s being spread primarily between humans. “Here — in the case of ESBL-E.coli — it’s much more important to wash your hands after going to the toilet,” said Livermore, adding that appropriately cooking meat remains critical to avoiding food-borne illness. Though many varieties of ESBL won’t make you sick, the ones that do are proliferating. “Infections caused by ESBL-E. coli bacteria are difficult to treat. And they are becoming more common in both the community and hospitals,” said Livermore. “Mortality rates among people infected with these super-bug strains are double those of people infected with strains that are susceptible to treatment.” Unfortunately, even adults could use a refresher on proper hand-washing techniques, according to a study by the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS). In 2017, they surveyed more than 2,000 people and found that 84 percent don’t scrub their hands with soap and water for the recommended minimum of 20 seconds. More disturbingly, 21 percent admitted they do not always wash their hands after leaving the bathroom. They warn that failure to perform good hygiene causes more illness, which means more use of antibiotics, leading to an increase in drug-resistant bacteria, also called “superbugs.” “If we can reduce the number of illnesses where antibiotics are needed,” said RPS president Ash Soni, “we can reduce antibiotic resistance by saving these important medicines for when they are really required.”

Its sad we need so-called “experts” to tell us what should be basic common sense.  But, here we are..  If you use the bathroom, wash your hands…with soap, for cryin’ out loud..

Migrants Fleeing Islamic State Risk Bringing Deadly Flesh Eating Disease To Europe

A flesh-eating tropical disease is ravaging the war-torn Middle East, after Islamic State destruction created the ideal breeding conditions. The parasitic disease called Cutaneous leishmaniasis is caused by bites from tiny infected sand flies which thriving in the squalid conditions left in the wake of Islamic State terror and conflict. Thousands of cases have now been reported. Previous, it was contained in Syria but has spread to Turkey, Lebanon, and Jordan after more than four million Syrians fled there. With the same migrants now heading on to Europe in their millions, it could be just a matter of times before it reaches the West. The disease can kill if left untreated, and creates open sores on the skin, nosebleeds and difficulties breathing and swallowing. Survivors are often left with horrific scars. A lack of medical facilities and doctors, coupled with serious water shortages, in the war-torn Middles East have allowed to condition to take hold, and spread. The Kurdish Red Crescent had previously claimed that rotting corpses dumped on the streets by Islamic State fighters were contributing to the spread of the disease. Scientists at the School of Tropical Medicine have disputed this claim. The number of cases has shot up from just six in 2012, to thousands just a year later. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the disease has recently begun to flourish in Syria’s neighbouring countries. Dr Waleed Al-Salem, of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, told MailOnline: “It’s a very bad situation. The disease has spread dramatically in Syria, but also into countries like Iraq, Lebanon, Turkey and even into southern Europe with refugees coming in. “There are thousands of cases in the region but it is still underestimated because no one can count the exact number of people affected. “When people are bitten by sand flies – which are tiny and smaller than a mosquito – it can take anything between two to six months to have the infection. “Someone might have picked it up in Syria but then they may have fled into Lebanon or Turkey, or even into Europe as they seek refuge. “Prior to the outbreak of war there was good control of diseases, parasites and sand flies but when the conflict started no one cared, conditions worsened and the health system broke down, which has created an ideal environment for disease outbreaks.” Peter Hotez, dean of the US National School of Tropical Medicine, added: “We need to ring fence them or risk another situation like Ebola out of the conflict zones in West Africa in 2014. “We are only getting glimpses of the situation from refugees fleeing the conflict zones and going to camps in Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey.”

And just think.. Thanks to Obama, we’re importing this potential health risk by the thousands. How dumb is that?!?  To see photos of people affected by this dreadful disease, click on the text above. Unreal…

CDC confirms first case of Ebola in US: UPDATE

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed on Tuesday that a patient being treated at a Dallas hospital has tested positive for Ebola, the first case diagnosed in the United States.

This is an update to the story we posted earlier this afternoon.. The man in question came from Liberia, one of the African nations afflicted with Ebola. How was this man allowed into the U.S. to begin with?!? Holy crap!! The first thing that the State Dept should do is IMMEDIATELY suspend ALL travel and visas from ANYONE from Libera, Sieera Leone, and any other nation where there has been an Ebola outbreak. That’s just common sense, and is in our nation’s national security interests, for crying out loud! If we’re willing to send 3,000 U.S. military troops to do God knows what in Africa, then the very least we can do is suspend ALL travel from ALL persons from ALL of the African nations affected by Ebola. Period!

CDC confirms first case of Ebola in US

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) confirmed the first case of Ebola in the United States Tuesday.

Like there was any doubt this would eventually happen? Here at The Daily Buzz we’ve been warning that this would happen for several months now, and have been pushing for measures to prevent this from happening. None of those measures included sending 3,000 U.S. military personnel to Africa.. But, naturally, thats what Obama has done. Go figure..

Anyway, now that Ebola is confirmed here, we need to take aggressive pro-active measures (i.e. enhanced border security, visa screenings, medical screenings and education, etc.) NOW to ensure this but an isolated situation. This is something that the CDC should work on in conjunction with the Dept of Homeland Security (DHS), and other federal, state, and local agencies. God help us all..