Wildwood residents may have noticed a wastewater spill over the weekend near the end of Flaming Star Avenue, with the flow going down the canyon and into the creek.  Public Works staff determined the cause was a blockage, not a pipe break, but unfortunately were not immediately able to clear the blockage. Instead crews quickly established a bypass line, effectively stopping the spill. (1/2)

Under the microscope: Looking at B.C.'s wastewater surveillance for viruses
Scientists say they hope testing wastewater for pathogens, which gained prominence during the COVID-19 pandemic in B.C., continues and helps better inform the public of emerging threats going forward.
#science #publichealth #wastewater #viruses #BC #News
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/wastewater-surveillance-bc-future-1.7485107?cmp=rss

Trump Halted an Agent Orange Cleanup. That Puts Hundreds of Thousands at Risk for Poisoning.
—

Diplomats in Vietnam warned Washington that halting USAID’s efforts to clean up the massive deposit of postwar pesticides would be a catastrophe for public health and relations with a key strategic partner in Asia.
https://www.propublica.org/article/trump-halted-agent-orange-cleanup-dioxin-vietnam-poison-risk?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=mastodon-post

I wonder if people see the same distinctions that I see between the use of the word "immunity" in the legal sense as compared to the medical and public health senses. ...

Continued at [https://listed.to/@Scmasm/60364/in-which-i-opine-about-immunity]

Yay, #Infections! Lethal ones, diseases that #Science and #PublicHealth had controlled or eradicated. #HeWhoShallNotBeCombed & #SwastiCar guy, using Secretaries with brain worms, are decimating our efforts to deal with TB (and measles and COVID and worms…). Yay!
https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2025/03/tuberculosis-death-usaid-trump/682062/

Gee, it's a mystery! If you're an idiot.

As tuberculosis cases rise in the US and worldwide, health officials puzzle over the resurgence of a disease once in decline
https://www.alternet.org/tuberculosis-2671337939/

‘Don’t Stop Asking Questions’: Mother of 10-Year-Old Minka Green Speaks Out After Daughter’s Tragic Flu-Related Death https://shinemycrown.com/dont-stop-asking-questions-mother-of-10-year-old-minka-green-speaks-out-after-daughters-tragic-flu-related-death/?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=mastodon #FluAwareness #PublicHealth #ChildHealth #AskQuestions #FluSymptoms

#covid #CovidTests #CovidTesting #PublicHealth

'The government recently shut down the program that would mail four free COVID tests to anyone who requested them, but a lesser-known program for community groups is still running. If you have a plan to distribute tests for free, you can request them by the hundreds. '

https://lifehacker.com/health/how-to-get-free-covid-tests-in-bulk-for-your-community?utm_medium=RSS

This #LongCovidAwarenessDay I’m reflecting on how many people have been let down by governments, public health & medical establishments

How Covid has been downplayed, airborne spread ignored & vaxx and relax strategies pushed for the sake of capitalism

How many have Long Covid because of this?

Those of us who were disabled before the pandemic could see this wave of chronic illness coming - and many of us have been screaming from the top of our lungs the last 5 years.

Begging people not to take their health for granted & to wear a mask and protect themselves.

Warning them that there are no do-overs once you become chronically ill. Unfortunately very few people are listening - and many won’t understand the true devastation of #LongCovid until it directly impacts them. At which point it’ll be too late.

Despite seeing these waves of disability as an inevitable consequence of “let er rip” Covid strategy - one thing I did not see coming was how many people would willingly embrace not only ableism - but full on eugenics.

People in my own life who were previously kind & supportive have become cruel and angry. The masks have been ripped off. They don’t hesitate to tell me that they blame me for the restrictions placed on them in the early days of Covid.

That they will never again allow their freedoms to be infringed on in the name of protecting the vulnerable. One even went as far as to say “you’ve been sick for years - just die already.”

People who say these things don’t understand what disabled ppl understand all too well - your health is not a permanent state.

Everyone will become disabled eventually - some earlier than others. Many who think they’re invulnerable are already vulnerable and don’t even know it

Yet rather than adapting behaviour and pushing for a new normal that makes the world safe for everyone - most temporarily abled people have instead doubled down on hateful eugenics talking points and want us to stay home forever (or worse - die). It needs to stop.

Covid is airborne and we all share the air. “You do you” individualism is quite literally killing people. We need to start caring about the air we share as this will lead to a healthier society for everyone.

Until then we need to mask up. It’s easy, incredibly effective & it might save someone’s life. At the very least you will know you didn’t contribute to another person’s suffering - and you will be drastically reducing your own odds of getting Long Covid. It’s worth it.

https://www.disabledginger.com/p/i-dont-know-anyone-with-long-covid

"Instead, experts from within the FDA, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the US Department of Defense gathered Thursday to go over surveillance data from the US and around the world about flu viruses that are currently circulating.

The FDA is recommending that flu vaccines for the 2025-26 season be trivalent, protecting against two strains of influenza A and one of influenza B."

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/13/health/fda-flu-vaccine-recommendations/index.html

"Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) told reporters on Capitol Hill that she was so troubled about Weldon’s vaccines stance that she shared her concerns with the White House, and she was not surprised that his nomination had been pulled."

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/13/dave-weldon-vaccine-skeptic-cdc-00228884

On this Long COVID Awareness Day, my thoughts go out to the millions who have been directly affected, or care for someone who has.

Hope you all have someone to lean on in these particularly difficult times, something that still brings you joy.

Hang in there, we're all in this together!

#nature #pain #PublicHealth

'Using an fMRI scanner, researchers monitored the brain activity of 49 participants in Austria, as they received pain delivered through a series of small electric shocks. When they were watching videos of a natural scene compared to a city or an indoor office, participants not only reported feeling less pain, but scans showed the specific brain responses associated with processing pain changed too.'

https://news.exeter.ac.uk/faculty-of-health-and-life-sciences/watching-nature-scenes-can-reduce-pain-new-study-shows/

I get confused about extra infections diseases and I am very grateful to epidemiologists, or doctors who are interested in epidemiology who can explain multiple ways of how, for example measles vaccine works, who needs them and more interesting information if I want more. Here's a very helpful post by Dr Katelyn Jetelina, Your Local Epidemiologist about MMR, boosters, etc.
#measles #vaccines #publichealth #boosters
https://open.substack.com/pub/yourlocalepidemiologist/p/10-faqs-on-mmr-and-measles-protection?r=ct3l&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email

"Still, 'the majority of use is not necessary to improve or maintain health,' and due to only light regulations, supplement makers may make claims about their benefits without sufficient evidence, Cohen said. 'No supplement needs to get tested or vetted by the FDA before it’s sold.'"

https://kffhealthnews.org/news/article/dietary-supplements-health-freedom-fans-mehmet-oz-rfk-jr-surgeon-general-maha-industry-conflicts/

Measles is unlike other viruses: What to know about long-term complications.

From NBC News: "The virus targets certain types of immune cells in the body, destroying them in the process."

https://flip.it/MaZ0pr

#Nigeria #music #PublicHealth

'The bouncy tune sounds like it’s meant for the dance floor or your Spotify favorites. Then you hear the lyrics.

“If you feel it in your chest, you need to take some rest. Hypertension. . . Take the pressure, know your levels. Exercise, eat right.”

It’s a public health intervention, embedded in a song and created through the crowdsourcing work of Carolina’s Dr. Joe Tucker and his team.'

https://www.unc.edu/posts/2025/03/12/crowdsourcing-transforms-public-health-messaging/

https://news.sky.com/story/anti-poison-ulez-scheme-has-lowered-air-pollution-most-in-london-boroughs-that-opposed-it-13323222 “No level of air pollution is safe. It can lead to thousands of premature deaths and a whole host of health issues, from asthma to cancer, heart disease, strokes and dementia.” #london #CleanAir #PublicHealth

In 1 decade, Texas went from having high vaccination rates to low rates

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/experts-vaccines-texas-measles