Subject(s)
Aerosols , COVID-19 , Health Personnel , Humans , COVID-19/prevention & control , SARS-CoV-2ABSTRACT
Jamestown Canyon virus (JCV) is a mosquitoborne orthobunyavirus in the California serogroup that circulates throughout Canada and the United States. Most JCV exposures result in asymptomatic infection or a mild febrile illness, but JCV can also cause neurologic diseases, such as meningitis and encephalitis. We describe a case series of confirmed JCV-mediated neuroinvasive disease among persons from the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Quebec, and Nova Scotia, Canada, during 2011-2016. We highlight the case definitions, epidemiology, unique features and clinical manifestations, disease seasonality, and outcomes for those cases. Two of the patients (from Quebec and Nova Scotia) might have acquired JCV infections during travel to the northeastern region of the United States. This case series collectively demonstrates JCV's wide distribution and indicates the need for increased awareness of JCV as the underlying cause of meningitis/meningoencephalitis during mosquito season.
Subject(s)
Encephalitis Virus, California , Encephalitis, California , Adult , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Female , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Canada/epidemiology , Encephalitis Virus, California/genetics , Encephalitis, California/epidemiology , Encephalitis, California/virology , History, 21st CenturyABSTRACT
The COVID-19 pandemic has transformed our understanding of aerosol transmissible disease and the measures required to minimise transmission. Anaesthesia providers are often in close proximity to patients and other hospital staff for prolonged periods while working in operating and procedure rooms. Although enhanced ventilation provides some protection from aerosol transmissible disease in these work areas, close proximity and long duration of exposure have the opposite effect. Surgical masks provide only minimal additional protection. Surgical patients are also at risk from viral and bacterial aerosols. Despite having recently experienced the most significant pandemic in 100 yr, we continue to lack adequate understanding of the true risks encountered from aerosol transmissible diseases in the operating room, and the best course of action to protect patients and healthcare workers from them in the future. Nevertheless, hospitals can take specific actions now by providing respirators for routine use, encouraging staff to utilise respirators routinely, establishing triggers for situations that require respirator use, educating staff concerning the prevention of aerosol transmissible diseases, and providing portable air purifiers for perioperative spaces with low levels of ventilation.
Subject(s)
Aerosols , COVID-19 , Operating Rooms , Humans , COVID-19/prevention & control , COVID-19/transmission , Infection Control/methods , Occupational Exposure/prevention & control , Air Microbiology , Infectious Disease Transmission, Patient-to-Professional/prevention & control , Respiratory Protective Devices , Ventilation/methods , MasksABSTRACT
If some countries lead by example, standards may increasingly become normalized.