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☆ CDC is talking to airlines about wastewater testing in planes. New reports support that strategy.
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-21 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Aria-Bendix-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Aria Bendix | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The U.S. has been monitoring for the coronavirus in wastewater since the CDC launched its National Wastewater Surveillance System in September 2020. But that testing mainly involves wastewater from households or buildings, not samples from airports or planes. Previous Covid-19 wastewater surveillance has shown to be a valuable tool, and airplane wastewater surveillance could potentially be an option," CDC press officer Scott Pauley told NBC News. Politico first reported that the agency is considering airplane wastewater testing. As of October, more than 1,250 sites were conducting wastewater testing across the U.S.

☆ Factbox: Countries mandate COVID tests for China travellers
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

SWEDENSweden will require travellers from China to show they have tested negative for COVID before they can enter the country, the government said. FRANCEFrance will require travellers from China to provide a negative COVID test result less than 48 hours before departure. INDIAThe country has mandated a COVID-19 negative test report for travellers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and Thailand. CANADAAir travellers to Canada from China must test negative for COVID-19 no more than two days before departure, Ottawa said. SPAINSpain will require a negative COVID-19 test or a full course of vaccination against the disease upon arrival for travellers from China.

☆ British scientists plan to expand genomic sequencing from COVID to flu
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-10 | by ( Jennifer Rigby | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

NEXU Science Communication/via REUTERSLONDON, Jan 10 (Reuters) - Genomic sequencing allowed the world to track new coronavirus variants throughout the pandemic. Now British researchers plan to use it to better understand a host of other respiratory pathogens, from influenza to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The work will begin later this year by using leftover material from swabs taken for COVID-19 diagnostic purposes, sequencing SARS-CoV-2, influenza, RSV and other common respiratory viruses in a combined process. While some of the viruses targeted typically cause mild, cold-like symptoms, others can cause serious illness, particularly in vulnerable populations. The five-year initiative aims to begin work from spring this year and is funded by Wellcome.

☆ Rapid tests for Covid, RSV and flu are available in Europe. What's stopping them in the U.S.?
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-06 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Aria-Bendix-Byline-Jm.Jpg | Aria Bendix | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +7 min

But unlike Covid tests, which are available over the counter, RSV and flu tests must be performed at a doctor’s office or ordered via prescription. The rapid test from Brus' photo, however, is available in the European Union, and the manufacturer has certified that it meets the E.U. The FDA said it strongly supports at-home tests for respiratory viruses, including combination tests for flu and Covid. Unlike Covid tests, Butler-Wu said, there have been fewer opportunities to study whether rapid flu tests can be administered in the shallower part of the nose and maintain their accuracy. Butler-Wu said rapid flu tests given by medical professionals are generally about 60% sensitive, meaning they produce false negatives about 40% of the time.

☆ Here's a list of places imposing rules on travelers from China as Covid surges
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-01 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Authorities around the world are imposing or considering curbs on travelers from China as Covid-19 cases in the country surge following its relaxation of "zero-Covid" rules. Places imposing curbsUnited StatesThe United States will impose mandatory Covid-19 tests on travelers from China beginning on Jan. 5. IndiaThe country has mandated a Covid-19 negative test report for travelers arriving from China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Thailand, the health minister said. Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty ImagesJapan will require a negative Covid-19 test upon arrival for travelers from mainland China. South KoreaSouth Korea will require travelers from China to provide negative Covid test results before departure, South Korea's News1 news agency reported on Friday.

☆ The CDC is considering testing airline poop and toilet waste for COVID-19 as anxieties rise about China's virus spread
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-31 | by ( Bethany Dawson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The US is considering testing airline wastewater for COVID-19 to track the virus. Wastewater tests showed the presence of COVID-19 variants up to two weeks before people tested positive using nasal swabs. Three infectious disease experts told Reuters that testing wastewater collected on airplanes would be more effective at tracking the virus than testing travelers on entry. According to the South China Morning Post, the Malaysian government has announced that they will start screening toilet water on flights from China to track the virus. They will not, however, be testing travelers upon arrival to Malaysia.

Rapid tests have always been second to polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, assays when it comes to accuracy. Home-test kits have expiration datesAt-home COVID-19 test kits are one of the more convenient inventions to come out of the pandemic. Over-the-counter test kits typically have a sticker on the box indicating an expiration date and manufacturing date. One study found that false positives showed up when unexpected substances were directly applied to test kits. That is if you use the rapid test correctly and wait at least three-to-five days since a COVID-19 exposure to swab yourself.

☆ U.S. considers airline wastewater testing as Covid surges in China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The United States this week also expanded its voluntary genomic sequencing program at airports, adding Seattle and Los Angeles to the program. "Previous Covid-19 wastewater surveillance has shown to be a valuable tool and airplane wastewater surveillance could potentially be an option," she wrote. French researchers reported in July that airplane wastewater tests showed requiring negative Covid tests before international flights does not protect countries from the spread of new variants. They found the omicron variant in wastewater from two commercial airplanes that flew from Ethiopia to France in December 2021 even though passengers had been required to take Covid tests before boarding. Osterholm and others said mandatory testing before travel to the United States is unlikely to keep new variants out of the country.

The United States this week also expanded its voluntary genomic sequencing program at airports, adding Seattle and Los Angeles to the program. "Previous COVID-19 wastewater surveillance has shown to be a valuable tool and airplane wastewater surveillance could potentially be an option," she wrote. French researchers reported in July that airplane wastewater tests showed requiring negative COVID tests before international flights does not protect countries from the spread of new variants. They found the Omicron variant in wastewater from two commercial airplanes that flew from Ethiopia to France in December 2021 even though passengers had been required to take COVID tests before boarding. Osterholm and others said mandatory testing before travel to the United States is unlikely to keep new variants out of the country.

☆ UK to consider COVID curbs for arrivals from China - Telegraph
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Dec 29 (Reuters) - The UK will consider on Thursday imposing COVID-19 restrictions for arrivals from China, including requiring tests for the coronavirus, the Telegraph reported. Officials from the Department for Transport, Home Office and the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) are expected to decide today whether the UK should follow the United States and Italy in imposing COVID restrictions for travellers from China, the report said. The Prime Minister's spokesperson had said earlier on Wednesday that the restrictions were "not something we are looking at", the report added. The United States imposed mandatory COVID-19 tests on travelers from China on Wednesday while Italy has ordered COVID-19 antigen swabs and virus sequencing for all travellers coming from China. Reporting by Gokul Pisharody in Bengaluru; Editing by Muralikumar AnantharamanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ UK and France say no plans to follow Italy with Covid tests for China arrivals as EU plans response
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( Jenni Reid | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Carlos Barria | ReutersLONDON — The U.K. and France said Thursday morning they currently had no plans to reintroduce mandatory Covid-19 tests or additional requirements for travelers arriving into the country. It comes as several nations announced new measures in response to China's relaxation of Covid restrictions amid a suspected surge of infections but reduced domestic testing. On one Dec. 26 flight from China into Milan's Malpensa Airport, 52% of passengers tested positive for Covid, la Repubblica reported. But Italy's National Institute of Infectious Diseases reportedly called for an increase in testing for those arriving from China. The U.S. said from Jan. 5. all arrivals from mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau must supply a negative Covid test taken within two days of departure.

☆ Factbox: COVID rules for travellers from China around the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Countries are imposing or considering imposing curbs on travellers from China amid a COVID-19 surge there after authorities relaxed "zero-COVID" rules. Below is a list of new regulations for travellers from China. INDIAThe country has mandated a COVID-19 negative test report for travellers arriving from China, Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Thailand, the health minister said. JAPANJapan will require a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival for travellers from mainland China. Milan's main airport, Malpensa, had already started testing passengers arriving from Beijing and Shanghai.

☆ Factbox: COVID rules for travellers from China rolled out around the world
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-29 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

BEIJING, Dec 29 (Reuters) - Several places around the world have imposed curbs on travellers from China amid a COVID-19 surge after Beijing relaxed strict "zero-COVID" measures. Below is a list of rules for travellers from China:UNITED STATESThe U.S. will impose mandatory COVID-19 tests on travelers from China beginning on Jan. 5. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said Americans should also reconsider travel to China, Hong Kong and Macau. JAPANJapan will require a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival for travellers from mainland China. COUNTRIES MONITORING SITUATIONAUSTRALIAThe country said it was making no change to its rules around allowing travellers from China in.

Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni may say more on this in her end-of-year news conference from around 11:30 a.m. (1030 GMT). It was unclear when the EU health committee, which started its meeting on Thursday morning, would end and what decisions it could take. The Health Security Committee is composed of officials from health ministries across the bloc and chaired by the Commission. It has met frequently at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in Europe to coordinate policies. China has rejected criticism of its COVID statistics as groundless and politically motivated attempts to smear its policies.

☆ Italy imposes mandatory Covid tests for travellers from China
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-28 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Italy has ordered COVID-19 antigen swabs and virus sequencing for all travellers coming from China, where cases are surging, the health minister said on Wednesday. Milan's main airport, Malpensa, had already started testing passengers arriving from Beijing and Shanghai on Dec. 26, and the results showed almost one in two passengers was infected. Japan has said that from Dec. 31 it will require a negative COVID-19 test upon arrival for travellers from mainland China, while Taiwan will test arrivals from China from Jan. 1. On the first flight to Malpensa that tested passengers from China out of 62 passengers 35 were Covid positive, Lombardy's health chief Guido Bertolaso said on Wednesday, while on the second 62 were positive out of 120. He added that virus sequencing procedures had been activated to analyse variants, and the results are expected on Thursday.

Experts recommend isolating first, then taking at least two rapid tests, spaced a day or two apart. But if you don't use rapid tests in the right way at the right time, they won't provide accurate results. According to early studies from the UK and the US Food and Drug Administration, rapid tests still work. If you're planning to mingle, take a rapid test just as you arrive, not hours beforeA rapid COVID-19 test, the Abbott BinaxNow, administered by a health department in Livingston, Montana. 'One layer of reducing risk'A 4-year-old gets a rapid COVID-19 test in Palos Verdes Estates, California, on August 24.

Since the early days of the invasion, Mr. Putin has conceded, privately, that the war has not gone as planned. “I think he is sincerely willing” to compromise with Russia, Mr. Putin said of Mr. Zelensky in 2019. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. To join in Mr. Putin’s war, he has recruited prisoners, trashed the Russian military and competed with it for weapons. “I think this war is Putin’s grave.” Yevgeny Nuzhin, 55, a Russian prisoner of war held by Ukraine, in October.

“You have to sample them all and analyze them all to see if they belong to victims or a suspect. The Moscow killings occurred in a three-story, six-bedroom rented house, about a half-block from the University of Idaho campus. The apartment house in Moscow, Idaho, where four students were stabbed to death held an enormous amount of biological evidence, experts say. “So, who could have left that DNA evidence? Before getting answers about DNA, investigators seek clues in the location of blood.

In the early 2010s, Mr. Mellow set out for still more distant shores, traveling to many famous surf breaks in the South Pacific. Mr. Abdul-Rashed and Mr. Danian traveled to Hawaii to connect with Mr. Mellow, their spiritual guide and Pacific expedition leader. Mr. Mellow posted an ad on Facebook and Craigslist offering $10,000 for passage to the South Pacific. Mr. Schmidt was in sync with the young seekers when it came to fear of Big Brother and vaccines, but dreading port officials brandishing nasal swabs struck even Mr. Schmidt as a little unhinged. When asked if he was at all responsible for what had happened to Mr. Danian and Mr. Abdul-Rashed, Mr. Mellow looked genuinely confused.

☆ Chinese cities brace for wave of Foxconn workers from COVID-hit Zhengzhou
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-30 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Taiwan-based Foxconn, which has about 300,000 workers in Zhengzhou, has not disclosed the number of infected workers. On Oct. 19, Foxconn banned all dining-in at canteens and required workers to take their meals in their dormitories, but assured that production was normal. Photographs and videos circulating widely on Chinese social media since Saturday showed Foxconn workers trekking across fields in the day and along roads at night. "They were Foxconn employees who escaped from the factory and were walking home," wrote a user of WeChat in a post about the social media images. Returning workers are to travel "point-to-point" in pre-arranged vehicles en route, and are to be quarantined on arrival, they said in separate letters on their respective social media accounts addressed to Zhengzhou Foxconn workers.

☆ Here to stay? China's cityscapes transformed by thousands of COVID test booths
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-26 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Not so China itself - in cities big or small, routine PCR testing is the new normal. read moreRegister now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterTens of thousands of kerbside sampling booths where people can be tested day and night have become a permanent feature of Chinese cityscapes. Testing booths, typically container-like structures erected in the middle of a pavement, are staffed by a few health workers in hazmat suits ready to take quick throat swabs. "Doing a PCR test every two days, I really feel it's a pure waste of resources," posted one user of Weibo, a popular Twitter-like microblog in China. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Ryan Woo; Editing by Kenneth MaxwellOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Sexual assault victims billed for hospital exams that should be free
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-15 | by ( Aria Bendix | Aria Bendix Is The Breaking Health Reporter For Nbc News Digital. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

Some victims of sexual assault are paying out of pocket for their emergency room care, even though federal law requires that their forensic exams be free. The Violence Against Women Act, a federal law enacted in 1994, stipulates that people cannot be charged for a forensic exam after a sexual assault. The new research did not differentiate between costs that should be covered under federal law and other supplementary medical services. Salganicoff said several organizations that assist victims of sexual assault provide lists of hospitals with forensic exam providers. According to the KFF report, some states offer more free medical services associated with the forensic exam than others.

Researchers created a microscope slide that can detect cancer by simply "viewing" cells. It's not limited to cancer cells, so could also be used to detect other diseases. Cancer cells tend to interact with light in a different way from healthy cells. Cancer cells tend to interact with light in a different way from healthy cells. In contrast, the NanoMslide can manipulate light at the nanoscale, causing cells to "light up" with vivid and contrasting colors.

☆ I'm a photographer who covered 9/11 and its aftermath. Here are the most gripping photos I took, and the stories behind them.
▼ + stars: | 2001-09-11 | by ( Alan Chin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +21 min

A month after that, I got an assignment to go to northern Afghanistan. Their soldiers had repelled a Taliban offensive in 1997, and massacred thousands of the Taliban prisoners they had captured. Air Force flights from as far away as Germany were dropping American military and humanitarian food packets in an effort to win hearts and minds. This was taken aboard the ferry connecting the east and west sides of the American military base. Even as the American war in Afghanistan ends in both ignominy and relief, the conflicts there and in dozens of other places continue.

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