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WASHINGTON, DC – Summer, 2023 –  Last summer, NBC news reported a new OSHA pilot-study for the prevention of heat-related illness of workers in at-risk industries by testing wearable arm bands. This device measures heart rate, exertional level, and core temperature. Core temperatures above 106 degrees are associated with heat-related illness; normal is 98.6 degrees. Workers at Black Warrior Brewing Company in Tuscaloosa, Alabama have participated in the study. Many have had to load kegs and pallets of beer cans onto trucks in the scorching Alabama summer heat. Once a worker’s core temperature reaches 100 degrees, the workers are asked to take a break before returning to work. Sam Ambrose, the head brewer, feels that this device can prevent serious heat-related illness from happening. He said “I’ve seen a lot of serious stuff happen in a lot of heat incidence.” At the time of last year’s report, the Alabama state government funded the cost for companies to participate in the study. The arm bands are manufactured by SlateSafety, headquartered in Atlanta.

The prevention of heat-related illness in workers has become a priority of the Biden Administration following a September 2021 initiative to fight climate change and its environmental and health impacts. However, OSHA does not have a specific standard for hazardous heat conditions. Therefore, President Biden would like the agency to develop heat-specific workplace rules to protect workers and prevent heat-related illness. There is an average of 35 work-related fatalities and almost 3 thousand cases of days away from work each year in the U.S. Most outdoor fatalities occur in the first few days of working in hot environments because the body has not built up a tolerance to heat. The lack of acclimatization is one of the major risk factors for heat-stress fatalities at work. Acclimatization is a beneficial physiologic adaptation of building up a tolerance to heat that occurs after repeated exposure to a hot environment.

Millions of workers are exposed to heat in the workplace and may develop heat-related illness in indoor and outdoor environments. Indoor industries include: kitchens, bakeries, steel mills, manufacturing with local heat sources, and warehouses. At-risk outdoor industries include: farming, construction, landscaping, and oil operations.  A disproportionate number of these jobs are held by persons of color.

OSHA recommends that employers

• Have an emergency plan in place if workers show signs of heat-related illness
• Train supervisors and workers about the hazards of heat exposure and its prevention
• Provide all new workers with a 1-2-week period of work restrictions until they become acclimatized to the heat
• Provide frequent rest breaks
• Closely monitor employees for symptoms of heat stress
• Have employees ‘buddy up’ to watch each other for signs of heat stress

 

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Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

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UNITED STATES – Summertime, 2023 –  Heat-related illness is the nation’s leader of weather-related fatalities. About 700 people every year die in the United States from exposure to extreme heat, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Climate change has caused more frequent extreme weather events like higher temperatures and heat waves; therefore, people are faced with more occasions to develop heat-related illness.

The recent heat wave in June with record-breaking temperatures over 110 degrees in Texas has affected over 90 million people under heat alerts across the south and Central U.S. from New Mexico to Florida. As of June 28^th, 14 people have died due to heat-related illness in Texas and Louisiana. This week, extreme temperatures spread northward to the Plains states and eastward to the Southeast region. University of Michigan Public Health Professor Marie O’Neil commented, “With climate change, extreme weather, including heat, is becoming more frequent and intense. Hot weather has unequal impacts, and seniors, very young children, outdoor workers, people without access to air conditioning, and those with chronic illnesses are among the most vulnerable.”

Many factors play a role creating heat stress like environmental conditions, physical activity, clothing or protection gear, and individual risk factors. Environmental heat factors include: air temperature, humidity, local radiant heat sources, and air flow. The heat index, commonly used to measure environmental conditions, is determined by air temperature and humidity. An index above 80 is considered to be a significant minimal threshold to develop heat-related illness. During the current heat wave, the readings have exceeded 100 throughout the southern states.

People can overheat very quickly leading to potential health problems. They should limit their exposure to high temperatures. Heat exhaustion occurs to due to loss of water and salt from excessive sweating. Signs include: headache, dizziness, fainting, weakness, heavy sweating, confusion, thirst, nausea or vomiting. People should get out of the heat with any signs of heat exhaustion. Heat stroke is a more severe condition and can be fatal. Sweating stops and the body can no longer remove excess heat. Signs include: confusion, passing out, seizures, and hot dry skin. Anyone with signs of heat stroke should be moved to a cooler place to lower body temperature immediately followed by a 911 call for immediate medical assistance. It is recommended that everyone take frequent breaks out of the heat, drink plenty of water (at least one pint per hour), wear light-colored, lightweight and loose-fitting clothing, rest in the shade, and in a cool place.

 

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Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour

 

ASHEVILLE, NC – July 5, 2023 – The COVID-19 metrics are on the CDC’s COVID Dashboard. Weekly data indicate:

• Hospital admissions are at a low level in every county in North Carolina and almost 100% of the counties in the U.S. from the week ending on June 17^th
• Fewer than 10 deaths in North Carolina were due to COVID-19 during the week ending on June 24^th
• Emergency room visits for COVID-19 are minimal in North Carolina from the week ending on June 24^th

Wastewater monitoring can be used to provide early warning for COVID outbreaks. The Buncombe & Henderson counties wastewater data for the week ending on June 21^st is on the North Carolina COVID Dashboard.

• The number of viral gene copies in each water sample is at a dark blue level representing the lowest level of 5 groups.
• The 15-day rate of change of the number of viral gene copies in each water sample is negative

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services wants everyone to know that:

• COVID-19 can affect people differently. Some people have mild symptoms like a cold and others have more severe symptoms like a bad case of the flu. Some effects can be long-lasting.
• Older adults and immunocompromised people are at a higher risk of developing severe illness and being hospitalized. The CDC recommends that people in these groups get an updated COVID-19 bivalent booster because it gives added protection.

The Department of Health and Human Services recommends:

• Stay up-to-date with COVID-19 vaccines
• For extra protection, wear an effective medical grade mask
• People who are positive for COVID-19 or do not feel well should stay home
• People with any COVID symptoms should get tested
• If you test positive, your doctor may recommend medical treatment

More and more Americans have developed some immunity to COVID-19 from immunizations and previous infection. New variants continue to infect people with the most at-risk groups more susceptible to severe illness.

 

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Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

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ATLANTA, GA – May 15, 2023 –  The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) sent out an alert on May 15^th about a recent cluster of cases of mpox (formerly called monkeypox) in the Chicago area. The number of cases of mpox in the United States has declined since peaking last summer. However, there are still cases worldwide including in the U.S. From April 17 to May 5, 12 confirmed cases and one probable case of mpox were reported to the Chicago Department of Public Health. Every affected person was male. None were hospitalized. 9 of the 13 people (about 70%) had a full series of mpox vaccinations. The summer season may lead to more mpox outbreaks as people get-together for festivals and other events.

Mpox is a communicable disease that spread across the world last summer to areas that rarely had been affected. There has been more than 30 thousand people infected in the United States. The World Health Organization had declared the disease a global public health emergency. The virus is related to the virus that causes smallpox. However, the source of the disease is unknown. The virus can reside in African rodents and non-human primates and can infect people. The first human infection was identified in the 1970’s. Up until the recent 2022 outbreak, mpox has been endemic in central Africa (a more severe strain) and western Africa (a milder strain that is rarely fatal). Cases outside of Africa were related to human travel or through the export of animals. The recent worldwide outbreak, in countries that have not historically reported the disease, is from the milder West African strain.

Monkeypox symptoms are similar to smallpox symptoms but milder. They can include: fever, headache, severe pain, muscle aches, swollen lymph nodes, exhaustion, and chills followed by a rash. The rash, from a few lesions to thousands, can appear like pimples or fluid-filled blisters before scabbing over. The illness can last from 2 to 4 weeks until the scabs fall off.

The disease can spread from contact with an infected person or infected animal. An infected person can spread it from the beginning of their symptoms until the rash has completely healed. The virus is primarily spread through direct skin-to-skin contact with the rash, scabs or bodily fluids. It can also spread by prolonged breathing of respiratory droplets or by having contact with items, like clothing or bedsheets, that has previously touched the rash or infected bodily fluids. Most of the monkeypox cases outside of Africa during the recent outbreak have been spread through contact among men who have had sex with men. However, women and children can develop monkeypox with direct contact with an infected person. The time from exposure to the first symptoms can range from 3 to 17 days.

People can prevent getting monkeypox by avoiding close, skin-to-skin contact with infected persons and by not touching items that have been contaminated by an infected individual. Standard detergents and household cleaners are effective at decontaminating bedsheets, clothing and surfaces. Frequent hand sanitation can also reduce the risk of transmission. Infected persons need to isolate at home away from others including pets. All skin rashes need to be covered. The outbreak had declined because of changes in sexual behavior, vaccination, and acquired immunity.

A person should get evaluated by a health care provider for a close contact to someone with monkeypox, for symptoms or physical signs even if previously vaccinated or infected with mpox. Tests can be performed by having a health care professional swab a skin lesion (a rash or sore). Samples must be sent to only those labs able to perform the analysis such as a public health lab and select commercial labs.

The vaccines are effective to reduce the risk for infection and transmission of the virus and in reducing the severity of disease and hospitalization. The CDC recommends that a person get the vaccine within 14 days of exposure. Vaccination within 4 days from exposure may prevent the onset of the disease; administration between day 4 and 14 after exposure may reduce the symptoms.

The vaccine is for people at a high risk for exposure to mpox. Those at-risk include gay, bisexual, transgender, and nonbinary people and men who have sex with men. At-risk people may qualify for the vaccine with:

• A suspected exposure in the previous 2 weeks,
• A sex partner with mpox in the past 2 weeks
• Multiple sex partners or anonymous sex in the past 6 months
• A diagnosis of a sexually transmitted infection in the past 6 months

The vaccine is also for people at a high risk of being exposed, for example, laboratory, healthcare and public health workers (who may handle specimens or are exposed to infected patients).

Last September, the Buncombe County Department of Health & Human Services (BC HHS) partnered with 103.3 AshevilleFM and The Getaway River Bar to have a mpox vaccination clinic at the bar’s Riverside Drive location in Asheville. This was one of the first public health services by the newly created BC HHS Mobile Team to bring vaccinations to underserved rural communities and populations. The mobile team was created with federal COVID-19 funds to purchase a mobile van and hire a team of nurses and emergency medical technicians.

 

Listen to the full report below:

 

 

Contact: Dr. Dick Needleman, Health reporter, 103.3 AshevilleFM, [email protected]

More Posts for Show: Asheville FM News Hour