🧵The Cause of the Mysterious Pneumonia Surging in China, South Korea, France, Netherlands, Denmark and the U.S. is Revealed
We uncover what's behind the surge in respiratory illnesses. How concerning is it?
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Bacterial pneumonia is often secondary to viral infections. Bacteria like that causing mycoplasma pneumonia are usually opportunistic, in that they take advantage of an immune system that has been weakened by a virus. 2/
So, for instance, influenza, RSV and the common cold can sometimes lead to bronchitis or pneumonia, infections of the upper and lower respiratory tract, respectively. We know that COVID can cause more damage to the immune system than the other viruses.
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There are quite a few COVID variants causing illness, hospitalization and death, but there is one that has been increasing in prevalence at the same pace as the increasing cases of what are likely secondary respiratory infections. 4/
It’s possible that the increasing cases of bacterial and viral respiratory infections leading to pneumonia is the cumulative toll of weakened immune systems from many COVID infections.
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Consider this. China, with fewer COVID infections per person, compared to the Netherlands, Denmark, France, or the U.S., is experiencing a simultaneous increase in pneumonia cases, that is coinciding with the prevalence of the BA.2.86 variants in all the other countries. 6/
Week 34 is where the pneumonia cases in the Netherlands separated from the norm, and has continued increasing from there. Week 34 is the last week of August, precisely when Ohio started seeing the increase in pneumonia and the same time BA.2.86 started increasing. 1st pic: NL 7/
From the ECDC on BA.2.86'S prevalence per country.
First detected and growing exponentially from week 34 in France and week 36 in the Netherlands. This is with decreased sequencing and the delay in reporting the results. 8/
In France, an increase in lung infections caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma pneumoniae has been recorded in recent days.” The cases mainly concern minors under the age of 15, but it is working its way up through the age group's as shown in Netherlands data, as JN.1 expands.
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Thus far, Chinese officials say causal agents include known pathogens, such as mycoplasma, RSV, influenza and SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes Covid-19)."
In South Korea, confirmed cases of the illness more than doubled from mid October to mid November.
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Netherlands, Since week 34, there has been an upward trend in the number of patients with whooping cough in the 0 to 14 age group.
In weeks 45,46, and 47, the first 3 weeks of November, the number of children with whooping cough is increasing sharply above prior years.
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Ohio, They said that it started “roughly in August, but really picking up in mid-late October, and we’ve been noticing a lot of cases of kids being absent and the resulting diagnosis being Pneumonia" Weeks 33 and 34 are the last two weeks of August. Aligns perfectly with BA.2.86
“Danish medical institute declares ‘cold pneumonia’ epidemic” “released on Wednesday, November 29, the medical entity announced that an increasing number of Danes had tested positive for the respiratory infection Mycosplasma pneumoniae"
Denmark: BA.2.86 started on week 33
When science aligns closely with real-world data, the likely culprit is the multitude of new mutations in the BA.2.86 variants. The studies indicate it has an enhanced ability to attack respiratory epithelial cells, coupled with the highest immune evasion and suppression to date.
We end up with a surge in secondary lung infections. It's crucial to note that for every pneumonia case, there are likely many times greater number of infections by these variants.
The evasion and suppression of the immune system may lead to fewer initial symptoms, with secondary infections becoming the primary indicators in many cases.
This situation poses a significant risk of persistent infections, potentially leading to Long COVID and disabling conditions for millions. For those that avoid Long COVID, there is an increased odds of musculoskeletal, neurological, vascular and cognitive dysfunction.
The virus can resist the effects of the antibodies our body produces to fight it and prevent it from infecting our cells.
BA.2.86 is antigenically distinct from XBB.1.5 and can escape neutralizing antibodies induced by XBB variants.
Increased risk of viral persistence. Combined with the greater immune evasion & suppression, faster entry into cells means faster replication, more time to circulate, and infiltrate into viral reservoirs throughout the body & brain before T-cells can eliminate the infected cells.
The severity of health conditions is influenced by the viral load someone is exposed to, and with insufficient upgrades to ventilation and air filtration, the risk of infection remains high.
Considering the likelihood of less noticeable initial symptoms with these variants, more people could be contagious without detectable signs.
Anticipate a significant increase in secondary infections, such as pertussis, mycoplasma pneumonia, streptococcus pneumonia, influenza, RSV and adenovirus, impacting the lungs more harshly, through immune suppression than any prior variant.
Hospitals should brace for a significant influx of patients in the coming weeks. This is impacting children now as it moves through classrooms and homes but it is working its way up through the age groups. Older adults will likely be impacted more severely in the coming weeks.
Contrary to expectations, the Pirola variant surge may not be milder than 2021/2022. It is likely to be substantially higher than the 2022/2023 surge as is already indicated by CDC wastewater data. Starting in mid-January, we should see exponential decay continuing into February.
For a more detailed analysis, and links to sources, follow the link to the substack page.
Antigenically distinct from XBB descendants, JN.1 can reinfect quickly after a recent XBB infection. 2 in a row with divergent variants could ↗️ odds of #LongCovid
& ↘️ spiral of health.
Reinfection by divergent Omicron sublineages, 16 days apart
The study says,"points to the current situation of evolution and spread of SARS-CoV-2, in which reinfections may be an important consequence of the potential escape from the immune response generated by previous infections and/or vaccination."
Limit transmission to slow evolution
Clean Air for Kids must be made a priority.
Given the current & ongoing situation, nothing is more important.
We have the technology. We simply must prioritize investing in it by changing the policies, building codes & voting for the right people.
"Patients with a bacterial co-infection had a higher proportion of severe disease"
"The importance of using appropriate targeted antibiotics and effective infection control practices to prevent the spread of resistant nosocomial infections." (Feb 2023)
We must inform expecting parents, their doctors, and nurses about the risks of COVID to pregnant women and their unborn babies.
"Intrauterine fetal demise is a recognized complication of coronavirus disease 2019 in pregnant women and is associated with histopathological placental lesions." (April 2024)
"The rate of neonatal SARS-CoV-2 positivity was higher in our cohort than previously reported, neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infections were rare. Our data emphasizes confirmative testing should be performed in newborns of SARS-CoV-2 infected mothers to identify neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infection as an underlying pathology leading to NICU admission." (January 2024)
"Vertical transmission of SARS-CoV-2 – data from the German COVID-19 related obstetric and neonatal outcome study (CRONOS)"
The U.S. response to the H5N1 bird flu threat is unacceptable. Its potential to circulate with COVID-19 could trigger a catastrophic pandemic, far surpassing COVID's impact alone.
Urgent action is needed to prevent human-to-human transmission before it's too late.
@POTUS @FLOTUS @BernieSanders @JohnFetterman @GovernorShapiro @SenBobCasey @SenMarkey @SenFeinstein @CDCgov @CDCDirector @USDAFoodSafety @USDA Don't let the following headline end with "United States."
The U.S. is allowing an almost inevitable human to human variant to emerge unless serious action is taken NOW.
🧵 Cows Have Human and Bird Flu Receptors, Increasing the Odds of it Evolving to Infect Humans More Efficiently, Potentially Leading to Human-to-Human Transmission
Where did they find these receptors?
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A new (pre-print) study found that these receptors were present in the highest numbers in the mammary gland, but also in the respiratory tract, and cerebrum (brain) of both beef and dairy cows.
➡️ "and Beef Cows"- Why aren't we testing beef cows before crossing state lines?
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This suggests that not only are dairy cows susceptible, but also beef cows. Although these receptors were found in the highest concentrations in the tiny milk-producing sacs of the udder, called alveoli, they were also found in the respiratory tract and the brain. ⬅️
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If this is true, then why aren't all Long COVID patients treated with antivirals to ensure viral clearance?
It's become quite clear that the immune system's response is to a persistent infection, often compounded by reactivated EBV or other reactivated viruses.
Most milk or cream for ice cream goes through the normal pasteurization process, which is 165 degrees for 15 seconds, which may indeed be safe, but we are still waiting on more studies that ensure its enough to kill H5N1. For example, the CDC is testing 297 more samples. We are still awaiting results.
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The higher temps of ultra pasteurization kill more viruses and bacteria, extending the shelf life a couple of months. That extended shelf life of the higher temp milk and ice cream shows that the lower temperature pasteurization leaves a lot of bacteria, shortening the shelf life. 2/
That bacteria is generally healthy for people, but could a virus also survive?
There are at least two brands that state they use the higher temps.
1. Blue Bell ice cream is likely the safest from H5N1. Their system heats their mix to 185 degrees for 25 seconds.
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Children 5 -17 yrs: U.S.
↗️ COVID Hospitalizations
While other age groups are seeing a decline in hospitalizations, school-age children's hospitalization levels are back up to late December/early January levels.
Why is this happening?
Due to the transmission in classrooms and homes.
Although we don't see the exponential growth resume after winter break by looking at wastewater and hospitalization data that encompasses all ages, we do see it in the
air sampling & PCR testing studies, and this hospitalization data. After the initial decline from winter break, by mid-January, the hospitalizations started increasing again.
Together, they show us that COVID is spreading in schools and that it leads to preventable acute illness, #LongCOVID, and hospitalizations.
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COVID is 3 x more likely to be the virus causing an illness in children than all the other respiratory viruses combined, according to a study published March 8, 2024.
When your child's doctor says it could be any virus and there is nothing we can do, like my child's doctor recently said, remind them that COVID causes significant long-term damage even when symptoms are mild in children.
Identifying each infection is very important in helping determine issues that may arise weeks or months after the initial infection period.
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Furthermore, sending children back to school while still infectious, as the CDC's updated isolation guidance suggests, will increase the rate of transmission, and put more children at risk of not only hospitalization but also the long-term damage associated with asymptomatic and mild infections.
The more children returning to school while still infectious, despite "improving symptoms," the greater the probability of multiple children being infectious in any one room.
The more infectious children, the faster the viral load builds up. The larger the amount of viral particles a child or their teacher are exposed to, the greater the odds of longer term damage and persistent infections, and the greater the amount of work the body has to do to fight it off. That translates to more sick days for children, teachers, and parents. 3/ #teacher #schoolsafety
#education #CleanAirNow #CleanAirforKids #schooladministrators