Norovirus and Flu News:

‍

• California is seeing a major uptick in norovirus across LA, San Diego and San Francisco, with elevated wastewater levels and packed ERs.  (LA Times)
  
  
• New York is seeing a significant spike in flu cases much earlier than expected. (NY Times)
  
  
• Flu season is official here. 3.2% of doctor’s visits nationwide are for flu-like symptoms, and test positivity has jumped from ~3% last month to ~8%. (Outbreak Outlook)
  
  

Health News:

‍

• Measles continues to skyrocket in South Carolina, with over 125 confirmed cases, 300 people in quarantine, and 11 school exposures. (Axios, DPH)
  
  
• The US will almost certainly lose its measles elimination status in January due to sustained transmission for a full year. (The Hill)
  
  
• A recall of the most prescribed statin may impact hundreds of thousands of patients and renew concerns about oversight of foreign drug manufacturers. (Yahoo)
  
  
• A recent review found cardiovascular benefits from reducing saturated fat, as discussions continue around potential updates to federal dietary guidance. (WSJ)
  
  
• Controlling blood sugar in pre-diabetics appears to cut the risk for heart disease in half. (NY Times)
  
  
• California has hired two prominent former CDC officials for the state department of health. (NY Times)
  
  
• There have been more mass shootings in the U.S. than there are days in the year (391 so far) for the seventh consecutive year. (YLE)
  
  
• Wisconsin detected its first avian flu in cattle. (CIDRAP)
  
  
• New research into how inflammation causes long COVID, including how it can awaken previous infections, may help unlock treatments. (Washington Post)

‍

Substance Use & Mental Health News:

‍

• President Trump signed an executive order classifying fentanyl as a “weapon of mass destruction.” (CNN)
  
  
• Meanwhile, the administration is considering reclassifying marijuana, which would be a boon to the cannabis industry. (The Hill)
  
  
• A self-led cognitive behavioral therapy course delivered on smartphones significantly improved anxiety symptoms in a clinical trial. (Medpage Today)

‍

Best Question:

If an employee's roommate has confirmed flu, should we keep the employee out?

‍

We love this question because it’s the kind of foresight and commitment to employee health that shows you’ve got a great manager on your hands! 

‍

Generally we don’t recommend that you exclude an employee if a household contact has the flu, as long as the employee themself is completely symptom-free. Even if they’re caregiving for a child with flu, there’s a possibility that they never get it themselves or that it takes a few days for them to actually get infected. In practice, this would mean a lot of employees need to stay out before they’re sick, especially at the height of flu season. 

‍

In a perfect world, where staffing and pay weren’t issues – sure, it would be great to exclude everyone whose household members test positive for infectious viruses. In reality, it doesn’t make sense, for your business or for your employees’ lives. 

‍

Luckily, flu has a short incubation period - usually around one day, and no more than about 4. That means for most people, they’ll get infected and then develop symptoms within a day or so. And unlike norovirus, which is nearly guaranteed to spread to household members who share a bathroom, flu is slightly less infectious, especially if the employee is vaccinated or recently infected. 

‍

If you do have an employee whose roommate or family member has tested positive for flu, remind them to wash their hands more thoroughly and more frequently than they normally do, and most importantly, to STAY HOME if they start to develop any symptoms. 

‍

Best Read: 

‍

We’ve been discussing how health department responses have changed since the pandemic, and South Carolina’s response with measles is an interesting example. They are requiring quarantine for unvaccinated kids in schools, but not running vaccine clinics or mandating vaccines.

South Carolina measles response puts personal choice over orders - Axios

‍