10 févr. 2021

Triathlon and Coronavirus Guidelines 2021

We have guidelines from last year.  Things have changed since then, but the 2020 guidelines are below in this article.  Why are we updating the guidelines?  New research is available that helps to understand even better how to protect ourselves.  In particular, one from New Zealand, where they studied the entire flight from Zurich, Switzerland to Auckland.  They kept the passengers for 14 days after arriving.  They tested the passengers in the flight when arriving to Auckland.  The flight last about 18 hours, plenty time to be exposed to the coronavirus.  Most of them where in proximity or they were family members.  They said they wore masks except for one.  The science of aerosols tells us that the closer we are to the source of infection, the greater the chances of infection.  It also tells us that masks can be helpful if we are two meters away from the infected one in a moving plane.  Most likely, we can get protection sitting even closer than two meters in a plane but we have to consider the following:

a) The type of mask we wear.  N95 can make the trick.

b) Time spent eating.  Do not eat in the plane.

c) The interaction with the one sat next to the one who brought the virus in the plane is not mentioned in the study.  Do not speak if you do not need to.

https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/27/3/20-4714_article

 

21 avr. 2020

Triathlon and Team Oaxaca Coronavirus Guidelines

 

We started learning since the beginning of the pandemic about the virus, to face the situation.  We have learned the following:

1)   The virus is transmitted via aerosol in addition to saliva drops.  Why?  We have the story about the chorus rehearsing and apparently keeping the distance between two people.  They said: “No one sneezed or coughed.”  One-day rehearsal, 60 people practicing, 45 sick, two deaths. https://edition.cnn.com/2020/04/01/us/washington-choir-practice-coronavirus-deaths/index.html  This is more anecdotal, if you wish, but we have other sources of information.

 

We have the studies mentioned in the New England Journal of Medicine:

https://www.jwatch.org/

Surgical Masks Provide Source Control of Respiratory Viruses

Richard T. Ellison III, MD reviewing Leung NHL et al. Nat Med 2020 Apr 2 Bae S et al. Ann Intern Med 2020 Apr 6

Surgical face masks were found to reduce presence of influenza and coronavirus RNA in respiratory droplets and aerosols from infected individuals.

The CDC has just recommended that the general U.S. population begin wearing cloth face coverings to decrease the community-based transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Two new studies provide some support for the CDC guidelines.

In the first, researchers at a Hong Kong hospital obtained nasal and throat swabs and respiratory droplet and aerosol samples from 246 individuals with presumed symptomatic acute respiratory viral infection seen year-round between March 2013 and May 2016. During a 30-minute collection of exhaled breaths when patients were breathing and coughing normally, 124 individuals were wearing a face mask and 122 were not; 49 provided second 30-minute samples of the alternate type.

By reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) there were 54 individuals with rhinovirus infection, 43 with influenza infection, and 17 with human seasonal coronavirus infection. For all three viruses, the viral load was higher in nasal than in oral secretions, and all three viruses were detectable in both respiratory droplet (particles >5 μm) and aerosol (particles <5 μm) fractions of the exhaled breath. Masks led to a notable reduction in the number of RT-PCR–positive respiratory droplet and aerosol samples for patients with either coronavirus (in respiratory droplets, from 30% to 0%; aerosols, 40% to 0%) or influenza infection (respiratory droplets, 26% to 4%; aerosols, 35% to 22%); there was no meaningful reduction seen with rhinovirus infections. Influenza virus was able to be grown from 4 of 5 studied RT-PCR–positive aerosol samples from individuals not wearing masks.

The second study, by Bae and colleagues, recruited 4 patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection to cough five times onto petri dishes containing viral transport media approximately 20 cm from their face while wearing either no mask, a surgical face mask, or a two-ply cotton mask. The median nasopharyngeal viral load was 5.66 log copies/mL, and the cough samples found viral loads of 1.4 to 3.5 logs/mL whether or not a mask was present for three of the four patients. Swabs of the outer surfaces of both types of masks were positive for all four patients.

COMMENT

The work by Leung raises the theoretical concern of viral transmission through aerosols as well as respiratory droplets although, as the authors note, there was no attempt to grow either coronavirus or rhinovirus from the RT-PCR respiratory samples to confirm the presence of viable virus. Still, this novel study provides strong evidence that the use of surgical masks can provide source control for both human coronavirus and influenza virus infections when individuals are sitting for 30 minutes. In contrast, the very small study by Bae shows that neither surgical nor cotton face masks will prevent the spread of virus from a coughing individual — at least at a distance of only 20 cm. While both studies have clear limitations, together they suggest that the use of a surgical face mask can provide some source control in individuals infected with coronavirus or influenza, although the efficacy is likely diminished in coughing individuals (and we can't extrapolate the findings to other types of masks). Still, in my mind these limited data do support the broad use of face masks until this pandemic is brought under control.

 

2)   The German expert who instituted the program in Germany challenged the notion that the virus is primarily acquired touching infected material.  The assumption was that the coronavirus is transmitted via air and not so much by contact.

 

Researchers have so far come to different conclusions on how long the virus can survive on surfaces. But now a team of scientists in Germany are trying to find answers.

 

"So far, no transmission of the virus in supermarkets, restaurants or hairdressers has been proven," explained Bonn virologist Hendrik Streeck on the ZDF Markus Lanz talk show.

 

Instead, the major outbreaks have been the result of close get-togethers over a longer period of time, he said.

 

That's demonstrated in, for example, outbreaks that have stemmed from après-ski parties in Ischgl, at football matches in Bergamo or at carnival celebrations in the municipality of Gangelt in the Heinsberg district of North Rhine-Westphalia.

https://www.thelocal.de/20200402/how-german-scientists-hope-to-find-answers-on-coronavirus-in-countrys-worst-hit-spot

3)   The lakes, ocean are not infected to the degree of being a source of infection.  The problem is that we still get aerosol from infected people because those places are crowded most of the time.  The infection is not in the water.

https://www.unwater.org/coronavirus-global-health-emergency/

 

Coronaviruses (CoV) are a large family of viruses that cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases. According to WHO, while persistence in drinking-water is possible, there is no current evidence that coronaviruses are present in surface or groundwater sources or transmitted through contaminated drinking-water.

The spread of the virus is closely related to water and sanitation.Cleaning hands can reduce the transmission and help people stay healthy but today billions of people lack safe water, sanitation and handwashing and funding is inadequate.

 

Based on the above:

1)   Keep your distance, two meters from other human being.

2)   Wear a face mask according to what you do.  Driving a car with other triathletes, wear a N95 mask; use a surgical mask when riding or running with other mates, keeping most of the time the two meters of separation.

3)   Swim in an empty swimming pool, one member per lane or in a lake (keeping distance).

4)   Wash your hand as frequently as you can or use gel (alcohol above 60%).

5)   Avoid public places or wear your N95 if you need to be in a close room, even if you keep the two meters distance (remember the chorus rehearsal).

6)   Train with responsible people that is concerned about his/her health and the health of others.  This is the moment to define your friends.

7)   This should be in place until we obtain the vaccine or we get 70% infected people.  I hope the vaccine comes first.

 



 Addendum:

Regarding your eyes.  Wear your glasses like Fauci, but the eyes are not a problem unless you are in very close contact with people:
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340011892_Role_of_the_Eye_in_Transmitting_Human_Coronavirus_What_We_Know_and_What_We_Do_Not_Know

Aucun commentaire:

Enregistrer un commentaire