With the Chinese New Year approaching, the mobility of people will increase before and after the holiday, and the number of people returning to their hometowns, visiting relatives and friends, and traveling will increase significantly. Warm reminder from the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention:
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During the Spring Festival in 2024, it is necessary to pay attention to the risk of new coronavirus infection, respiratory infectious diseases, norovirus enteritis, human infection with avian influenza, etc., as well as food poisoning and carbon monoxide poisoning. In addition, special attention should be paid to the risk of dengue fever when traveling to tropical and **zone countries and regions.
Characteristics of the associated risks and specific preventive measures
Novel coronavirus infection
According to the monitoring information of the World Health Organization, based on the increase in global population mobility and crowd gathering during the 2024 New Year, the new variant JN1 The new coronavirus has shown an upward trend in many places around the world, and some countries with a faster epidemic rate have passed the peak of the current round of epidemics.
Among the new coronaviruses that have recently been circulating in our country, jn1 variant is on the rise. with the prevalent new coronavirus5 and other variants, compared to JN1 Variant infection causes similar severity of illness. The novel coronavirus is mainly transmitted through respiratory droplets and close contact, and can be transmitted by aerosols in closed environments, and can also cause infection by touching items contaminated with the virus. After the onset of the disease, the main symptoms are still fever, chills, dry cough, fatigue, myalgia, nasal congestion, runny nose, sore throat, etc.
Since the beginning of winter in 2023, China has been at a low level of epidemic of new coronavirus infection. With the increase in returning to hometowns, visiting relatives and friends, and domestic and overseas travel, the mobility of people increases, and the chance of virus transmission and spread increases, and the new crown epidemic may rise to a certain level during the Spring Festival.
Main precautions:
1) Maintain good personal protection habits, wash hands frequently, and wear masks scientifically. It is recommended to wear a mask when taking public transportation such as planes, trains, coaches, ships, subways, and buses; Elderly people, people with chronic underlying medical conditions, pregnant women, etc., should wear masks when going to indoor public places.
2) Advocate people with respiratory symptoms such as fever and cough to avoid participating in group activities or going to crowded places, seek medical treatment in a timely manner, and wear masks throughout the medical treatment process.
3) Elderly people, patients with chronic underlying diseases, and other high-risk groups for severe disease actively receive new coronavirus vaccines containing XBB variant antigen components.
Respiratory tract infections
Since November 2023, seasonal influenza has been the main respiratory tract infectious diseases in China, and there are also superimposed transmission of various respiratory pathogens such as rhinovirus, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, respiratory syncytial virus, adenovirus, etc., which will reach a peak in early December 2023 and gradually weaken. With the increase in mobility during the Spring Festival, there will continue to be a risk of the spread of multiple respiratory infectious diseases.
Seasonal influenza is mainly transmitted through respiratory droplets, but can also be transmitted through direct or indirect contact with mucous membranes such as the mouth, nose, and eyes. It generally manifests as acute onset, mostly fever, accompanied by chills, chills, headache, muscle and joint pain, extreme fatigue, loss of appetite and other systemic symptoms, often sore throat, cough, nasal congestion, runny nose, retrosternal discomfort, facial flushing, mild conjunctival hyperemia, vomiting, diarrhea and other symptoms, lack of specificity, easy to be confused with the common cold and other upper respiratory tract infections. Most cases are mild, a few are severe, and the high-risk groups for severe disease and death are mainly pregnant women, infants, young children, the elderly, or patients with chronic underlying diseases.
Main precautions:
1) Daily protective measures can effectively reduce the infection and spread of respiratory infectious diseases such as influenza, including: maintaining good hygiene, covering the mouth and nose with tissues and towels when coughing or sneezing; Wash your hands frequently and avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth as much as possible; Eat a balanced diet, exercise moderately, get enough rest, etc.
2) It is recommended to wear a mask when taking public transportation such as planes, trains, long-distance buses, ships, subways, and buses; Elderly people, people with chronic underlying medical conditions, pregnant women, etc., should wear masks when going to indoor public places.
3) Avoid close contact with patients with influenza-like symptoms, and try to avoid going to crowded places during the influenza epidemic season; After developing flu-like symptoms, patients should be isolated at home for observation, and wear masks when contacting family members to reduce the spread of the disease; When patients with influenza-like symptoms go to the hospital, patients and their accompanying staff should wear masks to avoid cross-infection.
4) Influenza vaccination is the most effective means of preventing influenza and can significantly reduce the risk of influenza and severe disease in vaccinated people. Influenza vaccination is recommended for pregnant women, children aged 6 months to 5 years, seniors aged 60 years and older, people with chronic underlying medical conditions and other high-risk groups for influenza, family members and caregivers of infants under 6 months of age, medical personnel, etc.
Norovirus enteritis
Norovirus enteritis can occur throughout the year, and the incidence is high in winter and spring in China. Norovirus enteritis tends to cause outbreaks in crowded places such as schools, kindergartens, and hospitals. Outbreaks also occur in tour groups, cruise ships, and resort centers.
Cases and infected individuals are the source of norovirus infection and are mainly infected through ingestion of food or water contaminated with faeces or vomitus, contact with feces or vomit from patients, inhalation of aerosols produced during vomiting, and indirect contact with objects and environments contaminated with faeces or vomitus. The most common symptoms are nausea, vomiting, fever, abdominal pain and diarrhea, and some patients have headache, chills and muscle aches. In children, vomiting is predominant, while diarrhea is predominant, and the stool is watery or watery.
Main precautions:
1) Wash your hands frequently, especially before eating, after using the toilet, and before processing food.
2) Pay attention to diet and drinking water hygiene, try to eat cooked food, do not eat raw or undercooked meat, seafood, vegetables, wash and peel fruits, and drink boiled water or unopened pre-packaged water and beverages.
3) Patients infected with norovirus should be isolated within 3 days after the illness period, patients with mild symptoms can be isolated at home or in the institution where the epidemic occurs, and severe patients should be sent to medical institutions for isolation**.
4) Surfaces contaminated by the patient's vomit or feces should be cleaned and disinfected with chlorine-containing disinfectant or other effective disinfectants in time, and contaminated clothes or bed sheets should be taken off and washed immediately, rubber or disposable gloves should be worn when washing, and hands should be washed carefully after washing.
Human infection with avian influenza
Human infection with avian influenza refers to the accidental breakthrough of influenza A viruses (such as H5N1, H5N6, H6N1, H7N4, H7N9, H9N2, H10N3, H10N5, H10N8, etc.) circulating among poultry to cause human infection or disease. Since the winter of 2023, avian influenza outbreaks in poultry and mammals have been reported in many places around the world, and human cases of H5N1 have recently occurred in neighboring countries of China. In January 2024, Cambodia reported 2 cases of human infection with H5N1 avian influenza in 2 provinces, all of whom were exposed to poultry before the onset of the disease. In 2023, Cambodia reported six human cases of H5N1 avian influenza, including four deaths.
Humans become sporadically through contact with infected poultry and exposure to an environment contaminated with avian influenza viruses. The incubation period for human infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza (H5N1 subtype) and human infection with H7N9 avian influenza is about 2 8 days. After the onset of the disease, the main clinical manifestations are fever, cough, sputum production and other symptoms, and the disease of severe patients develops rapidly, and severe pneumonia mostly appears 5 to 7 days after the onset of the disease.
Main precautions:
1) Avoid contact with sick and dead poultry and the environment polluted by their secretions and excrements, and try to avoid direct contact with live birds.
2) Buy chilled poultry from regular channels and quarantine safety, and cook poultry and eggs to be cooked.
3) Utensils that have been in contact with raw poultry meat and eggs should be cleaned, and regular disinfection is recommended.
4) When fever and respiratory symptoms appear, wear a mask, seek medical treatment at the fever clinic as soon as possible, and inform the doctor of their occupational exposure history, or the history of exposure to poultry before the onset of the disease, especially the history of exposure to sick and dead poultry, or the history of exposure to live poultry markets.
Food poisoning
During the holiday season, there are more opportunities to eat together and eat out, and the risk of food poisoning increases accordingly. Food poisoning caused by microorganisms is the most common in China, and other poisonings such as wild mushrooms and wild plants also occur from time to time.
Food poisoning usually occurs acutely shortly after eating, with gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea.
Main precautions:
1) Wash your hands frequently, especially before eating, after using the toilet, and before processing food.
2) Choose fresh and safe food raw materials, and pay attention to the separation of raw and cooked food during processing.
3) When eating out, pay attention to choosing a regular hotel or restaurant with good hygienic conditions.
4) Do not eat uncooked and cooked food, do not eat unclean fruits and vegetables, do not eat food from unknown sources, and do not eat unknown wild mushrooms and wild plants.
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless, and non-irritating asphyxiating gas. The high incidence season of non-occupational carbon monoxide poisoning in China is winter and spring, which is consistent with the coal-fired heating season. The provinces with a high incidence of non-occupational carbon monoxide poisoning are mainly distributed in Northeast China, North China and East Central China.
The main risk factors for non-occupational carbon monoxide poisoning are households, and the main risk factors include the use of coal stoves, charcoal fires, soil kangs, fire walls, etc. for heating in poorly ventilated environments, improper use, installation or unqualified quality of gas and gas water heaters, and gas leakage from gas stoves or gas pipelines. In addition, restaurants and hotels that use charcoal, gas, and gas, garages and basements that use small oil and gas generators, and airtight air-conditioned vehicles are also high-risk places. In addition, the recent rise of "tea around the hearth" has also become a high incidence of carbon monoxide poisoning.
The main symptoms of mild poisoning patients are headache, dizziness, tinnitus, dizziness, nausea, vomiting, and weakness of limbs. On the basis of mild poisoning symptoms, patients with moderate poisoning also have symptoms such as cherry red mucosa, flushing, sweating, rapid pulse, confusion, unsteady walking, confusion, drowsiness and fatigue, decreased judgment, hallucinations, shallow coma, and slow light reflex and corneal reflex; Patients with severe poisoning present with deep coma or cerebrocortical state, with significant weakening or disappearance of various reflexes, incontinence, cold extremities, pale or cyanotic lips, heavy sweating, increased body temperature, decreased blood pressure, and respiratory depression. After mild and moderate poisoning, quickly get out of the poisoning environment and rescue in time, generally without sequelae; Patients with severe poisoning have a high mortality rate, and survivors may have severe sequelae.
Main precautions:
1) In the cold season, if possible, try to choose central heating. When using heating equipment such as coal stoves or charcoal fires, gas or gas water heaters, gas or gas or charcoal stoves, small oil or steam generators, good ventilation should be maintained, carbon monoxide detectors should be installed, and regular inspection and maintenance should be carried out. When the vehicle is parked in the garage or basement, do not let the car engine run continuously; When the car is parked, do not leave the air conditioner on for a long time, and do not sleep in a car with the doors and windows closed and the air conditioner on.
2) In case of non-occupational carbon monoxide poisoning, the windows should be opened immediately for ventilation, gas, charcoal fire and other facilities and equipment should be quickly turned off, and the poisoned person should be quickly transferred to a place with fresh air and good ventilation and pay attention to keeping warm. Call 120 emergency as soon as possible** and proceed to the hyperbaric oxygen chamber** as soon as possible. Critically ill patients with respiratory and cardiac arrest should be given immediate rescue breaths and cardiac compressions.
Dengue fever
Dengue fever is a common infectious disease in tropical and tropical countries. Since the beginning of 2023, more than 5 million cases and more than 5,000 dengue-related deaths have been reported globally, close to record highs, with nearly 80% of cases reported from the Region of the Americas. Given the increased risk of transmission and the surge in cases and deaths, the World Health Organization assesses the global risk of dengue outbreaks as high. Travellers are at risk of dengue fever when traveling to Southeast Asia, Africa, the Caribbean, Central and South America, Pacific Island countries, and Australia.
Dengue fever is mainly transmitted through mosquito bites. The incubation period is 3-15 days. The main symptoms include fever, headache, orbital pain, joint and muscle pain, nausea, vomiting, rash, and mild bleeding. In severe cases, hemorrhage, shock, organ failure, and even death can occur.
Main precautions:
1) Wear loose, light-colored, long-sleeved tops and trousers.
2) Spray effective mosquito repellent on ** and clothing.
3) Try to stay in a hotel with air conditioning or screen windows. If your accommodation does not have air conditioning or window screens, it is best to use mosquito coils or mosquito control aerosols and use mosquito nets.
Contributed by the Emergency Center of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.