The Spring Festival is the most important traditional festival in the mainland, and the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention warmly reminds that it is still in the global pandemic period of the new coronavirus pneumonia epidemic, and while enjoying the happy and peaceful Spring Festival, we must also pay attention to the prevention and control of the new crown epidemic, and at the same time prevent human infection with avian influenza, seasonal influenza, norovirus infection, food poisoning and carbon monoxide poisoning.
Highlights
1. The currently circulating new coronavirus variants, The Semikron and Delta strains, are highly contagious, the natural prevalence rate in the mainland is extremely low, and the vast majority of people still face a high risk of infection. Those who have not been vaccinated against the new crown are recommended to be vaccinated as soon as possible, those who have not been fully vaccinated against the new crown are recommended to complete the full vaccination as soon as possible, and those who have been immunized against the new crown vaccine for more than 6 months are recommended to receive the booster dose as soon as noticed. Personnel in medium- and high-risk areas and counties (cities, districts, banners) where the epidemic situation is located are strictly restricted from traveling; personnel from other counties (cities, districts, banners) in the cities where the medium- and high-risk areas are located do not have to travel, and those who really need to travel must hold a negative nucleic acid test certificate within 48 hours. Strictly restrict travel to medium- and high-risk areas and the county where they are located (city, district, flag), and do not travel to other counties (cities, districts, flags) of the city where the medium- and high-risk areas are located. It is recommended that the elderly and those with underlying medical conditions avoid going out during the holidays. Avoid unnecessary cross-border travel. During the trip, you should obey the relevant requirements of the new crown prevention and control work of the travel destination, and prepare masks, hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes and other items. When in contact with others, wear masks, keep distance, wash hands frequently, reduce crowd gatherings, and control the size of the number of people gathering. Self-health monitoring should be done after returning from travel. These measures can also prevent respiratory infectious diseases that are common in winter and spring, such as influenza.
2. Try to avoid contact with live poultry or live poultry markets, do not buy live poultry, and encourage the purchase of cold or chilled poultry that has been slaughtered centrally to reduce the chance of avian influenza exposure and infection.
3. Maintain good personal hygiene during holidays, especially hand hygiene, and wash your hands correctly according to the 7-step handwashing method. When eating out, choose a restaurant with formal and good hygiene conditions, try to eat cooked food, and wash the raw melons and fruits; do not drink raw water. Raw and cooked food should be separated, and kitchen utensils and containers for processing food should be separated from raw and cooked. Food should be thoroughly cooked and burned thoroughly, and leftover food and overnight food should be thoroughly heated when eaten again. Maintain a good way of eating, try to choose the way of dividing meals, and advocate the use of chopsticks and spoons to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.
4. In winter, when indoor coal-fired heating, gas stoves or small oil and steam generators are used, good ventilation should be maintained to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning.
Characteristics of the associated risks and specific preventive measures
1
Novel coronavirus pneumonia
With the new crown virus Delta and The Semikron variants circulating widely around the world, the global epidemic is still at a high level. From January 1 to 20, 2022, the global average daily new cases were about 2.555 million, and as of January 20, the cumulative number of reported cases worldwide exceeded 336 million, and the cumulative number of deaths exceeded 5.56 million (for details of the real-time epidemic situation, see the distribution of the novel coronavirus pneumonia epidemic at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention http://2019ncov.chinacdc.cn/2019-nCoV/global.html). The number of epidemics imported into the mainland has increased, and since the beginning of winter, there have been many local clusters of epidemics caused by imported cases in local areas of the mainland. With the increase in the number of people returning from abroad during the festival, the increase in the mobility of domestic personnel, and the imminent major activities such as the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the risk of import and transmission of the epidemic in the mainland has increased during the Spring Festival in 2022.
Main precautions
Those who have not been vaccinated against the new crown are recommended to be vaccinated as soon as possible, those who have not been fully vaccinated against the new crown are recommended to complete the full vaccination as soon as possible, and those who have been immunized against the new crown vaccine for more than 6 months are recommended to receive the booster dose as soon as noticed. At present, the epidemic situation abroad is serious, and the risk of infection is high for individual outbound travel, so it is recommended that individuals fully weigh the timing and necessity of travel, do not leave the country non-urgently, and reduce the cross-border movement of people for non-essential reasons such as travel.
During the 7 days of health monitoring after the 14-day centralized isolation, the inbound personnel will undergo a nucleic acid test on the 2nd and 7th days, take the temperature once a day in the morning and evening, do a good job of symptom monitoring, and report truthfully to the community (village). If fever, dry cough, fatigue, sore throat, decreased sense of smell (taste), diarrhea and other symptoms appear, the community staff should be informed immediately, and cooperate with the medical institution to seek medical treatment, and truthfully inform the medical staff of the epidemiological history when visiting the doctor. During the home health monitoring period, it is not necessary to go out, if you need to go out, do a good job of personal protection, standardize the wearing of N95/KN95 protective masks, and avoid taking public transportation. Do not participate in gathering activities such as dinners, exhibitions, tourism, and training; restrict access to schools, factories, welfare homes, nursing homes, shopping malls, supermarkets, office buildings, playgrounds, large farmers' markets, theaters, and other crowded places; do not go to closed places such as chess and card rooms and KTV.
Personnel in medium- and high-risk areas and counties (cities, districts, banners) where the epidemic situation is located in China are strictly restricted from traveling; personnel from other counties (cities, districts, banners) in the cities where the medium- and high-risk areas are located do not need to travel, and those who really need to travel must hold a negative nucleic acid test certificate within 48 hours. Strictly restrict travel to medium- and high-risk areas and the county where they are located (city, district, flag), and do not travel to other counties (cities, districts, flags) of the city where the medium- and high-risk areas are located. Where travel is required under special circumstances, it is necessary to obtain the approval of the local epidemic prevention and control agency. The risk level of COVID-19 in various parts of the mainland can be queried in real time in the special column of the State Council website (http://bmfw.www.gov.cn/yqfxdjcx/risk.html), the mobile application "State Council Client" or the WeChat Mini Program.
It is recommended that the elderly, chronically ill patients, and pregnant women minimize unnecessary travel and unnecessary gatherings. Fever patients, health code "yellow code" and other personnel should perform personal protection responsibilities, actively cooperate with health monitoring and nucleic acid testing, and do not travel until the risk of infection is excluded. Personnel in high-risk positions in China should avoid travel as much as possible, and those who really need to travel must meet the requirements of leaving the job for more than 14 days and hold a negative nucleic acid test certificate within 48 hours, and report to the unit where they are located. The measures for the prevention and control of the new crown epidemic in various parts of the mainland can be inquired in real time in the special column of the State Council website (http://www.gov.cn/zhuanti/2021yqfkgdzc/index.htm#/).
Before traveling, if respiratory symptoms such as fever and cough occur, the travel plan should be temporarily suspended to avoid aggravation of fatigue symptoms during the journey, and to seek medical treatment in time under the condition of protection, nucleic acid detection and risk screening. During the trip, when taking aircraft, trains and other means of transport, you should comply with the order and crew management requirements, wear masks throughout the process, do a good job of hand hygiene, properly save the tickets for inquiry, and comply with the epidemic prevention and control regulations of the destination. If you have symptoms such as headache, fatigue, loss or loss of sense of smell and taste, dry cough, fever and other symptoms during the journey, you must cancel or suspend your trip, and immediately go to the nearest medical institution for nucleic acid testing and risk screening. During the holidays, do not participate in large-scale gatherings of people, family dinner gatherings do not exceed 10 people, and the scale of the activities that need to be held is reduced as much as possible. Individuals who organize banquets with more than 5 tables and other gatherings on their own must report to the neighborhood committee or village committee of the local community. Wear a mask, keep your distance, and wash your hands frequently when in contact with others. Pay attention to shelter when coughing and sneezing, and often open windows in the room to ventilate and maintain air circulation.
After returning from travel, continue to do a good job of personal health monitoring, should self-observe for 14 days, once unwell, seek medical treatment in time and take the initiative to inform the doctor of his travel history. Colleges and universities or enterprises with a large number of migrant workers, students or migrant workers need to provide a negative nucleic acid test certificate to return to school or return to work in accordance with the requirements of the unit.
After returning from travel, continue to do a good job of personal health monitoring, should self-observe for 14 days, once unwell, seek medical treatment in time and take the initiative to inform the doctor of his travel history. Colleges and universities or enterprises with a large number of migrant workers, students or migrant workers need to provide a negative nucleic acid test certificate to return to school or return to work in accordance with the requirements of the unit. After returning from travel, continue to do a good job of personal health monitoring, should self-observe for 14 days, once unwell, seek medical treatment in time and take the initiative to inform the doctor of his travel history. Colleges and universities or enterprises with a large number of migrant workers, students or migrant workers need to provide a negative nucleic acid test certificate to return to school or return to work in accordance with the requirements of the unit. When you return, continue to do a good job of personal health monitoring, you should observe yourself for 14 days, and once you are unwell, seek medical treatment in time and take the initiative to inform the doctor of your travel history. Colleges and universities or enterprises with a large number of migrant workers, students or migrant workers need to provide a negative nucleic acid test certificate to return to school or return to work in accordance with the requirements of the unit.
2
Humans are infected with avian influenza
Since the beginning of winter, outbreaks of avian influenza have been detected in the mainland among birds. Sporadic cases of human infection with avian influenza have also been reported in a small number of areas in the south. The main source of human infection with avian influenza is exposure to infected live poultry or visiting contaminated live poultry markets. Patients generally present with initial flu-like symptoms such as fever, cough, and sputum loss, which may be accompanied by headache, muscle aches, and general malaise. The condition of severe patients develops rapidly, and most of them show severe pneumonia and other manifestations.
Avoid contact with live poultry or live poultry markets as much as possible, and if contact is necessary, strengthen personal protection, such as wearing masks, gloves, and washing your hands with soap and water as soon as possible, and try to avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth with your hands.
Encourage the purchase of chilled or chilled poultry that has been slaughtered centrally; do not buy live poultry from live poultry markets or mobile vendors, let alone mix with existing poultry.
When purchasing fresh, live and frozen livestock, pay attention to checking the quarantine certificate.
Ventilate frequently to reduce stays in crowded, poorly ventilated places; if you have fever and respiratory symptoms, wear a mask, see a doctor as soon as possible, and tell the doctor if you have a history of poultry contact or whether you have been to a live poultry market before the onset of illness.
3
Seasonal influenza
Seasonal influenza usually has winter-spring peaks in the northern provinces of the mainland, and two peaks in the southern provinces, namely winter-spring and summer. Seasonal epidemics of influenza each year can lead to a large number of cases, mostly mild cases and a few severe cases with complications. Severe influenza occurs mainly in high-risk groups such as the elderly, young children, obese people, pregnant women and people with chronic underlying diseases, but can also occur in the general population. Influenza vaccination is the most effective means of preventing seasonal influenza and can significantly reduce the risk of influenza and serious complications in vaccinated people. Influenza viruses are susceptible to mutation, WHO proposes global influenza vaccine strains based on the prediction results of influenza virus prevalence strains in the next epidemic season every year, and vaccine companies in countries around the world produce influenza vaccines for the current year based on WHO's predictions, so the influenza virus strains targeted by influenza vaccines in different years may be different. In most years, the influenza vaccine is well matched to the influenza epidemic strain and has good protection. Since March 2021, influenza clusters have increased in the northern and southern provinces of the mainland, and some provinces have entered a high influenza season since November. Seasonal influenza is mainly transmitted through the respiratory tract and usually manifests as symptoms of systemic poisoning such as high fever, headache, and fatigue. The systemic symptoms of seasonal influenza are heavier than those of the common cold and are not easily distinguished from the symptoms of new coronary pneumonia.
Prevention of seasonal influenza should first start from personal daily protection, pay attention to maintaining good personal hygiene habits during holidays, including: washing hands frequently; the elderly and chronic disease patients try to avoid crowd gathering places and avoid contact with respiratory infection patients; to maintain good respiratory hygiene habits, cough or sneeze, cover the mouth and nose with tissues, towels, etc., wash their hands after coughing or sneezing, and try to avoid touching the eyes, nose or mouth. When family members have influenza patients, try to avoid contact with each other, especially if there are elderly people and chronic disease patients in the family. Early onset of flu-like symptoms should be promptly presented to distinguish them from covid-19. When parents with flu symptoms go to the hospital, they should protect the child and themselves (such as wearing a mask) at the same time to avoid cross infection.
In order to reduce the risk of illness, severe illness and death in special populations, influenza vaccination is recommended for high-risk groups such as the elderly, children, pregnant women, chronically ill patients and medical staff, and family members and caregivers of infants under 6 months of age, pregnant women and chronically ill patients should also consider influenza vaccination.
Children <5 years of age (especially children <2 years of age) are prone to serious complications and should see a doctor promptly if they have a persistent high fever, severe cough, dyspnea, altered mental status, severe vomiting and diarrhea. Neuraminidase inhibitors such as oseltamivir are effective treatment drugs for influenza, and the use of anti-influenza virus drugs in the early stage, especially within 48 hours of onset, can significantly reduce the incidence of influenza severe illness and death. Antiviral drugs should be used under the guidance of a doctor.
Winter and spring temperatures are changeable, should be based on temperature changes in time to increase or decrease clothing; pay attention to the combination of work and leisure, moderate exercise, do more aerobic exercise, avoid high-intensity confrontational and intense exercise; during the festival, do not overeat, regular meals, thick and thin collocation, reasonable diet; regular work and rest, to ensure adequate sleep, maintain emotional stability and physical and mental pleasure.
4
Norovirus gastroenteritis
Winter and spring is the high incidence of norovirus gastroenteritis season, the population is generally susceptible, norovirus has the characteristics of rapid mutation, strong environmental resistance, diverse transmission routes, low infection dose, short incubation period, long detoxification time, etc., which is easy to cause transmission among people. Collective places such as schools and childcare institutions are places with a high incidence of norovirus gastroenteritis outbreaks/clusters. Norovirus outbreaks also occur frequently in tour groups, cruise ships, and vacation centers.
Routes of norovirus transmission include human-to-human transmission, transmission through food and water. Human-to-human transmission is through the fecal-oral route, including aerosols produced during vomiting ingestion, exposure to vomit or feces from patients, and contact with environmental surfaces contaminated with feces or vomit. Foodborne transmission is transmitted through the consumption of food contaminated with norovirus, which can occur when norovirus-infected catering practitioners contaminate food in meal preparation and offering, or in the production, transportation and distribution of food contaminated with the excrement of people containing norovirus or other substances (such as water, etc.). Water transmission can be caused by contamination of other drinking water sources such as bottled water, municipal water supply, well water, etc.
The most common clinical symptoms are vomiting and diarrhea, followed by nausea, abdominal pain, headache, fever, chills, and muscle aches, and most patients recover after 2 to 3 days. In rare cases, severe illness or even death can occur.
Practice good personal hygiene, especially hand hygiene. Good personal hygiene is the most important and effective measure to prevent norovirus infection and transmission. Wash your hands frequently, especially before and after meals, when going home, after caring for the sick, before preparing or distributing food and eating, wash your hands correctly according to the 7-step handwashing method, using soap and running water for at least 20 seconds.
Pay attention to diet and water hygiene. Eat out to choose a formal, hygienic restaurant, try to eat cooked food, raw melons and fruits to be washed, oysters and other shellfish seafood must be cooked before eating; do not drink raw water.
Self-active isolation of cases. It is best for norovirus-infected people to actively isolate at home within 3 days after recovery, and try not to have close contact with other healthy family members, especially not to prepare and process food or take care of the elderly and infants.
Timely disinfection and cleaning of contaminants. Surfaces contaminated by the patient's vomit or feces should be washed and disinfected in time with chlorine-containing bleach or other effective disinfectants, and contaminated clothes or sheets should be removed and washed immediately, rubber or disposable gloves should be worn when washing, and washed carefully after washing.
5
food poisoning
During the holidays, there is an increase in the movement of people, an increase in the chances of eating together and out, and an increased risk of food poisoning events. Food poisoning caused by microorganisms is the most common in mainland China, mainly occurring in catering service units and collective canteens, manifested as eating the same or more contaminated or spoiled foods together, many people become ill, and patients mostly have gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea after eating.
Keep it clean, wash your hands frequently before and after meals, before and after handling raw and cooked food and its packaging, touching pets, and handling garbage.
Tableware and kitchenware should be rinsed, dried with flowing safe water, and frequently steamed and disinfected, and the kitchen environment should be clean. Raw and cooked food should be separated, and kitchen utensils and containers for processing food should be separated from raw and cooked. Food should be thoroughly cooked and burned thoroughly, and leftover food and overnight food should be thoroughly heated when eaten again. Save food at a safe temperature, cooked food storage time at room temperature shall not exceed 2 hours, food that cannot be eaten in time should be refrigerated or frozen, and cooked food should be kept above 60 ° C before eating.
Do not buy or eat food that has exceeded its shelf life. Use safe water and food raw materials, choose fresh vegetables and fruits, no mildew staple grains, beans and peanuts, etc., properly clean, peel, reduce risk; the whole process of food production should use safe water. When eating out, you should choose a catering unit with good food hygiene conditions, high credibility and complete licenses, maintain a good way of eating, try to choose the way to divide meals, and advocate the use of public chopsticks and spoons to reduce the risk of cross-contamination.
6
Carbon monoxide poisoning
Carbon monoxide is a colorless, odorless and non-irritating suffocating gas. On the mainland, the season of high incidence of non-occupational carbon monoxide poisoning coincides with the coal-fired heating season in the north of the continent. The high-incidence provinces are mainly distributed in the northeast, north China and eastern central regions of the mainland.
The main places where non-occupational carbon monoxide poisoning occurs are households, including living rooms that use heating equipment such as coal stoves and charcoal fires, toilets or shower rooms where gas and gas water heaters are placed, and kitchens that use gas and gas stoves. In addition, garages, basements, and air-conditioned cars using small oil and gas generators are also high-risk places.
The clinical symptoms of carbon monoxide poisoning are mainly related to the concentration of carboxyhemoglobin in the body's blood. After mild and moderate poisoning, it quickly leaves the poisoned environment and is rescued in time, generally without sequelae. Patients with severe poisoning have a high case fatality rate, and survivors may have serious sequelae.
In the cold season, if conditions permit, try to choose central heating as much as possible.
When using gas, gas stoves or small oil and steam generators in the home, good ventilation should be maintained, and it is best to install carbon monoxide detectors and check and maintain regularly.
Once non-occupational carbon monoxide poisoning occurs, the window should be opened for ventilation immediately, and the poisoned person should be quickly transferred to a place where the air is fresh and well ventilated. Call the 120 emergency number as soon as possible for hyperbaric oxygen chamber treatment as soon as possible, and for critically ill patients with respiratory and cardiac arrest, artificial respiration and cardiac compressions should be given immediately.
(Source: Emergency Center, China Center for Disease Control and Prevention)