If you or someone you know may be considering suicide, call 988 or message the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.
If you operate a restaurant near East Palestine, OH where the major train derailment and chemical fire occurred, the first priority should be employee and guest safety. While local businesses are no longer under evacuation orders, local residents are reporting concerning symptoms and uncertainty around the safety of the air and water nearby. If your restaurant closed and then reopened, we’d recommend a full sanitizing to wipe down any potential contaminants that settled from the air onto surfaces - out of both an abundance of caution and a way to reassure employees and guests. There are no boil-water orders in effect at this time, but some local restaurants may choose to do so anyway until there’s more clarity, especially given the widespread public distrust. For those nearby but not directly affected, there’s no action required, other than to continue to observe any local health department guidelines.
As we reported above, there’s an ongoing Listeria outbreak that’s caused 11 people to become sick in 10 different states spread across the US. While most of these cases have been this fall and winter, they’re genetically linked to three older cases in 2018 and 2019. The CDC believes it’s a food source, but they don’t know what’s causing it yet. That can be especially tricky for the food service industry. Listeria outbreaks can happen with a number of foods, but are most often linked to dairy products and produce. Recent outbreaks have been tied to soft cheeses, celery, sprouts, cantaloupe, and ice cream. Proper food safety can prevent spreading Listeria. Pay particular attention to cold-holding temperatures and food storage. We’ll continue to report on this as the investigation continues, especially if a food source is identified.
The H5N1 bird flu that’s been all over the news lately is concerning to us not just because it’s killing both domestic and wild birds and causing egg shortages. It’s also spread to and between mammals, which is the dicey part. And while there have been a few cases that spread to humans who had direct contact with infected birds, most of those cases are mild and have not spread between humans. In fact, considering how many cases of this there are in birds and how many of those birds have had contact with humans, it’s actually likely less infectious and less severe for humans than previous avian flus. But because it’s spreading so easily in so many different species and between other mammals (including minks, which have spread viruses to humans before), it’s not far-fetched to think that might change. More species means more opportunities to mutate. We’ll continue to be on the lookout, but we’re not expecting widespread human transmission in the near-term.
TB is short for tuberculosis, an infectious disease that’s spread through the air when an employee with active TB is sick. It’s a serious concern, but the first step is to verify! It’s incredibly common for employees to report to managers that they’re sick, when in fact, they just tested positive on a TB skin test, which only means that they’ve been exposed or had the BCG vaccine in another country as a child (it’s not offered in the US). If an employee shares a true positive test for active, infectious TB, you should send the employee home and require a doctor’s note for their return. Sanitize all surfaces the same way you would for COVID, and then check your local reporting guidelines. In most cases, the lab or physician will report it, but in some areas, you may be required to, as well. You should prepare for a health inspection since the health department will be involved. Check your latest inspections and make sure you’ve resolved any of the previous violations just in case they show up at your door.
As Covid Grabbed the World’s Attention, Texas’ Efforts to Control TB Slipped - KHN
.svg){kind=small}
