Japanese messaging. Top priority is correct masking. Keep it on while talking. No chin masking. Ensure gapless fit. Avoid speaking loudly in crowded, poorly ventilated spaces
The slogan in the lower third box that goes 「目指そうゼロ密!」 means "let's aim for zero transmission". It's a very #ZeroCOVID message. The majority (2/3) of the poster focuses on aerosol transmission
Actually, a more accurate translation is “let's aim for zero close contact”. Even more emphatic here. Eliminating the three forms of close contact: physical closeness, crowding, and closed spaces
There we have it, an English language version of the same poster. The 3 Cs: Close-contact settings, Crowded places, Closed spaces
Got asked by @jljcolorado for updates on the Japanese aerosol-mitigation information front. So, you will see a few of these posts this weekend (but I'm on-call for COVID today, so we'll see if I have time🤞)
And yet another variant of the same poster. Note how the emphasis is always on aerosol mitigation, with hand sanitisation playing second-fiddle in the messaging
Source website for the English language versions of the COVID information posters corona.go.jp/en/prevention/
Spanish language versions are also available (along with a host of other languages...see pull down menu at the top) corona.go.jp/es/
Malaria is vector-borne. How would you hasten the spread of malaria? By telling people to protect themselves against malaria by handwashing instead of using mosquito nets.
HIV is body-fluid-borne. How would you hasten the spread of HIV? By telling people to protect themselves against HIV by handwashing instead of using condoms (or PEP/PrEP)
Cholera is waterborne. How would you hasten the spread of cholera? By telling people to protect themselves against cholera by handwashing instead of boiling their drinking water.
Despite ancient origins, “contagionism” remained deeply unpopular because it implied the need for lockdowns to contain spread. Libertarian miasmatists claimed diseases weren't contagious. They regarded themselves as too modern for nasty Medieval lockdowns.
That's why when Semmelweis came up with the contagionist concept of handwashing to reduce disease spread, the whole libertarian medical world gasped in abject horror.
The idea of explosive contagiousness still terrifies people today. If a virus is airborne, like measles, it implies high-grade contagionism, leading to government to downplay the severity of the eruption: “Oh, it's nothing a dab of hand gel can't fix”.
This article on the outbreak of Cryptosporidium infections in Queensland is riddled with problems and contradictions. abc.net.au/news/2024-02-2…
It states: “Health officials say the spread of the illness can be controlled by proper hygiene and hand washing.” Yet, it also says, “You don't need to get much water in your mouth to potentially get a case.” How does handwashing stop that?
QLD Health claims: “What we saw with СОVID was people taking … precautions and washing their hands and limiting contacts, which led to a suppression of other communicable diseases. It's not surprising that there's a bit of a rebound where people are getting a bit complacent.”
Statements claiming that SARS-CoV-2 can't possibly be airborne because that would imply it is frightfully contagious, with an R0 more like measles, reminds us of how divisive a concept contagionism has been through the centuries. 🧵
Miasmatists held that miasmatism was more modern and libertarian, as opposed to contagionism, which had been used since the Middle Ages to justify quarantines and lockdowns to contain person-to-person transmission.
If you were a miasmatist, you held that lockdown and quarantine were useless since diseases were never contagious from person to person but spread by miasmas. It was your attitude to lockdown that determined whether you were a miasmatist or a contagionist.
A nice photo illustrating why surgical mаsks don't work as respiratory protective equipment. You can see big gaps at the top, sides, and bottom. All the air you breathe in goes through the gaps and enters your lungs unfiltered. Photo from a respirator ad by Koken.
But—you may object—surgical mаsks have excellent particle filtration efficiency (PFE). So they must work…right? A high PFE means nothing if the air you breathe in sneaks past unfiltered through these gaps rather than going through the filter. armbrustusa.com/pages/mask-tes…
This is why mаsks don't work. But there is a device that does work to stop you from inhaling airborne pathogens, and it is formally designated a “respirator” because it is designed to be tight-fitting enough not to allow leaks. #WearARespie
A bit of commentary on this @JAMANetworkOpen paper. It just means that HCWs should get a fresh respirator after they remove their respirators for a meal break mid-shift. Simple. 🧵 jamanetwork.com/journals/jaman…
The mechanism of fit failure is uncomplicated. It is strap fatigue. The reason trifolds didn't last as long is that they were Auras, which have super thin straps. This is not the case with Trident trifolds. It has nothing to do with the facepiece design (cup, duckbill, trifold).
The authors note, “the safety of reuse found that N95 fit was reduced after 5 donnings and doffings”. This is because it stretches the straps, provoking strap fatigue. The solution is to get fresh straps.