#Flu outbreak

[jocnewsupdates]

A variant of H5N1 bird flu that has circulated widely in wild birds — and in several instances led to severe illness in humans — has turned up in dairy cattle for the first time.

The findings were relayed in a short update from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which traced the new variant back to dairy herds in Nevada.

[surinderbhalla]

Understanding Flu: Symptoms and Prevention!

As the seasons change and the temperature drops, many of us find ourselves caught in the annual battle against the flu, also known as influenza. The flu is a contagious respiratory illness that can range from mild to severe and, in some cases, even lead to hospitalization or death. In this blog post, we’ll be understanding, what exactly the flu is, its symptoms, its causes, and, most importantly,…

[visenyaism]

giving me dirty looks for masking in this cvs is genuinely crazy work. gen xers they want me to cough the active case of influenza I currently have directly into their mouths. I do not consent to that

[ausetkmt]

Pharmacist Lunsford Richardson made Vicks a household name throughout the nation, but his popular product did not do the same for him.

Even in his native North Carolina, where his most celebrated of chemical concoctions has been right under our stuffy noses and on our congested chests for generations, the mention of Richardson’s name elicits blank stares from all but those who study and cherish history.

Richardson’s salve, Vicks VapoRub, helped the world breathe easier during the devastating influenza pandemic of 1918 and during the countless colds and flus of our childhoods, yet most of us couldn’t pick Lunsford Richardson out of a one-man police lineup, much less a who’s who of medical pioneers.

Why didn’t Richardson — by all accounts a creative inventor and smart businessman — ever become as famous as those vapors packed into the familiar squat blue jar?

Because his name wouldn’t fit on the jar.

That’s one version of the story. According to company and family lore, Richardson initially dubbed his promising new product Richardson’s Croup and Pneumonia Cure Salve. Realizing that this name didn’t exactly roll off the tongue nor fit when printed on a small medicine jar, Richardson changed the name to honor his brother-in-law, Dr. Joshua Vick. Another account suggests the inventive druggist plucked the name from a seed catalog he’d been perusing that listed the Vick Seed Co.

The truth may never be known. What is known, though, is that Lunsford Richardson created a medicinal marvel for the ages, the likes of which may never be equaled.

Croupy beginnings

A Johnston County native born in 1854, Richardson loved chemistry and hoped to study it at Davidson College. The college’s chemistry program at the time wasn’t as strong as he’d hoped it would be, so he studied Latin instead, graduating with honors in three years. He returned to Johnston County and taught school, but it wasn’t long before the young man’s love of chemistry got the best of him. In 1880, he moved to Selma to work with his physician brother-in-law, Dr. Vick. It was not uncommon in those days for doctors to dispense drugs themselves, but Vick was so busy seeing patients that he teamed up with Richardson, allowing him to handle the pharmacy duties for him. Richardson relied on his knowledge of Latin to help him learn the chemical compounds required to become a pharmacist, and that’s when he began to experiment with recipes for the product that would become Vicks VapoRub.

It wasn’t until Richardson moved to his wife’s hometown of Greensboro in 1890 that his magical salve and other products he created began to take off.

“He was a man of great intellect and talent,” says Linda Evans, community historian for the Greensboro Historical Museum, which has an exhibit devoted to Richardson and Vicks.

“Druggists at the time fashioned their own remedies a lot, and he created a number of remedies, in addition to his magic salve, that he sold under the name of Vick’s Family Remedies. He was obviously a man of such creativity.”

In Greensboro, working out of a downtown drugstore he purchased (where he once employed a teenaged William Sydney Porter, the future short story writer O. Henry), Richardson patented some 21 medicines. The wide variety of pills, liquids, ointments, and assorted other medicinal concoctions included the likes of Vick’s Chill Tonic, Vick’s Turtle Oil Liniment, Vick’s Little Liver Pills and Little Laxative Pills, Vick’s Tar Heel Sarsaparilla, Vick’s Yellow Pine Tar Cough Syrup, and Vick’s Grippe Knockers (aimed at knocking out la grippe, an old-timey phrase for the flu).

These products sold with varying degrees of success, but the best seller in the lineup of Richardson’s remedies was Vick’s Magic Croup Salve, which he introduced in 1894. And by all accounts, necessity was the key to its success.

“He had what they referred to as a croupy baby — a baby with a lot of coughing and congestion,” explains Richardson’s great-grandson, Britt Preyer of Greensboro. “So as a pharmacist, he began experimenting with menthols from Japan and some other ingredients, and he came up with this salve that really worked. That’s how it all started.”

Another version of the story suggests that all three of the Richardson children caught bad colds at the same time, and Richardson, dissatisfied with the traditional treatment of the day, which included poultices and a vapor lamp, spent hours at his pharmacy developing his own treatment.

Richardson’s salve — a strong-smelling ointment combining menthol, camphor, oil of eucalyptus, and several other oils, blended in a base of petroleum jelly — was a chest-soothing, cough-suppressing, head-clearing sensation. When the salve was rubbed on the patient’s chest, his or her body heat vaporized the menthol, releasing a wave of soothing, medicated vapors that the patient breathed directly into the lungs.

Vicks in the mailbox

In 1911, Richardson’s son Smith, by now a successful salesman for his father’s company, recommended discontinuing all of the company’s products except for Vick’s Magic Croup Salve. He believed the salve could sell even better if the company stopped investing time and money in the other, less successful remedies. He also suggested renaming the salve Vicks VapoRub, according to the company’s history timeline, to “help dramatize the product’s performance.” Richardson agreed, and a century later, the name’s still the same.

Meanwhile, Richardson intensified his marketing efforts by providing free goods to druggists who placed large orders and publishing coupons for free samples in newspapers. He also advertised on billboards and sent promotional mailings to post office boxes, addressed to Boxholder rather than the individual’s name, thus earning him the distinction of being the father of junk mail.

In 1925, Vicks even published a children’s book to help promote the product. The book told the story of two elves, Blix and Blee, who rescued a frazzled mother whose sick child refused to take nasty-tasting medicines. Their solution, of course, was the salve known as Vicks VapoRub.

Expanding and experimenting

As successful as the marketing campaign was, nothing sold Vicks VapoRub like the deadly Spanish flu outbreak that ravaged the nation in 1918 and 1919, killing hundreds of thousands of Americans. Loyal Vicks customers and new customers stocked up on the medicine to stave off or fight the disease.

According to the company’s history timeline, VapoRub sales skyrocketed from $900,000 to $2.9 million in a single year because of the pandemic. The Vicks plant in Greensboro operated around the clock, and salesmen were pulled off the road to help at the manufacturing facility in an effort to keep up with demand.

As the flu spread across the nation, Richardson grew ill with pneumonia in 1919 and died. Smith took over the company. Vicks continued to grow, buying other companies until Procter & Gamble bought it in the 1980s. Through the years, Vicks continued adding new products to its arsenal of cold remedies: cough drops, nose drops, inhalers, cough syrup, nasal spray, Formula 44, NyQuil. And whatever success those products attained, they got there standing on the broad shoulders of Richardson.

Richardson will never be a household name, but his salve has held that status for more than a century — and may do so for the next hundred years. And for Richardson, were he still around, that ought to be enough to clear his head.

A cure-all salve

Vicks users have claimed the salve can cure and heal many maladies. Even though Vicks doesn’t say the salve works for these problems, people still believe.

Toenail fungus: Rub the salve on your toenails, cover with socks, and sleep your fungus problems away. Cough: For a similar fix to a nagging cough, some believe rubbing Vicks on the soles of your feet can fix the problem. Dandruff: Rub Vicks directly on the scalp, and your flakes may just disappear. Chapped lips: Petroleum jelly is one of the ingredients in Vicks, and some say the ointment can help heal cracked lips. Mosquito bites: If you smooth Vicks on the red bumps on your legs and arms, it can supposedly take the itch right out. Warts: Dab Vicks on the wart, cover with duct tape, and it may fall off in a few days.

Greensboro Historical Museum 130 Summit Avenue Greensboro, N.C. 27401 (336) 373-2043 greensborohistory.org

See historical Vicks VapoRub bottles and learn about Lunsford Richardson.

[gwydionmisha]

As flu cases spike in Florida ERs, the CDC issues new guidance to identify bird flu

Left over from Biden. 47 has barred all communication about infectious disease because the numbers might make him look bad. Republicans broadly believe it is better to let large numbers of people die than to warn them about risk so they can take precautions.

I'm including animal stuff in here because it crosses species.

I noticed the forage boxes contained no eggs this week. I know the price is skyrocketing because of the bird flu. I am worried we won;t be able to get Livia's special food. Meanwhile Trump and RFK Jr. want to let people sell infected raw milk and don't care who is harmed or killed.

CW: Dead Animals

CW: Dead Pets

I beg of you do not drink raw milk.

[darkwood-sleddog]

how am i coping? i'm buying brightly colored dishes for my kitchen and art from small artists and thrifting because goddammit i need my house to be cozy when the world is burning and for cozy you need what i call the 4 Cs:

-color

-candles

-collection

-communist revolution

[millionsknives]

it actually terrifies me how many people are going to die of foodborne illness and easily preventable diseases in the coming years if someone doesn't step in now and stop this

[gayhenrycreel]

AIDS VACCINE BEFORE GTA6

it has to be taken every 6 months, but really all vaccines should be frequent, so this is big news!

[i-amusemyself]

so they've now found the New Improved monkeypox that WHO has declared a public health emergency outside of Africa- in Sweden and the US so far

heres me thinking we're facing down the next pandemic as This Current Covid Mess vs bird flu but now here comes fucking monkey pox with the steel chair

[jocnewsupdates]

Major Flu outbreak reported out of Texas Town, 650 out of 3000 students sent home

[pochapal]

Suddenly realizing that I probably jinxed your health by saying it was gonna get way worse 🙃🙃🙃🙃

You winning otherwise?

i got jinxed??????????????

[thepastisalreadywritten]

𝗝𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗳𝗹𝘂 𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝟭𝟵𝟵𝟵 😷

At the end of 2024, Japan recorded an unprecedented 𝟯𝟭𝟳,𝟴𝟭𝟮 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘇𝗮 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀, as reported by the country’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, its highest number of cases since 1999.

In terms of average cases per medical institution, it now reached 𝟲𝟰.𝟯𝟵 𝗰𝗮𝘀𝗲𝘀, exceeding both the government's warning threshold of 30 cases and previous high of 57.09 cases in January 2019.

The 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗢𝗶𝘁𝗮 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘄𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗝𝗮𝗽𝗮𝗻, recording 104.84 average cases, followed by the other prefectures in the Kyushu region.

There are several factors that led to this massive influenza outbreak in Japan.

According to Osaka University’s Satoshi Kutsuna, a professor of epidemiology, the 𝗳𝗹𝘂 𝘀𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗡𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 and has been in increasing trend ever since.

There are also signs of decreasing herd immunity. During the pandemic, widespread mask-wearing and rigorous hand hygiene significantly reduced influenza transmission.

However, 𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘅𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗱, 𝘀𝘂𝘀𝗰𝗲𝗽𝘁𝗶𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗹𝘂𝗲𝗻𝘇𝗮 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱.

Influenza can lead to severe complications such as viral pneumonia and secondary bacterial infections, most especially in 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗴 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗼𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗺𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗱𝘂𝗮𝗹𝘀.

To prevent complications due to influenza, it’s important to always 𝗽𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗵𝘆𝗴𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗲, 𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝘀𝗸𝘀 especially while in crowded places, 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘃𝗮𝗰𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱, and 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗹𝘆 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 once experiencing influenza-like symptoms.

Yesterday, the world was shocked after learning the news about the unfortunate death of Taiwanese star Barbie Hsu due to influenza-induced pneumonia.

She was on vacation to celebrate the holidays in Tokyo.

According to Kyodo News, Hsu previously revealed that she had a history of mitral valve prolapse and epilepsy. She was 48.

𝗥𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗲, 𝗕𝗮𝗿𝗯𝗶𝗲 𝗛𝘀𝘂 (1976-2025), 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗖𝗮𝗶 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗠𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗼𝗿 𝗚𝗮𝗿𝗱𝗲𝗻. 🕊️

4 February 2025

✍️ Jan Luis Antoc

[hollow-keys]

You know that saying about how leftists always get punished for being right too early? The same is true about veganism.

[supercantaloupe]

Sleepover Saturday!!!

umm so I don't have any pets in the traditional sense, but me & my mother are feeding / taking care of a few barn cats and today I was able to pet one of them that usually doesn't let us touch it!! We're making progress!! We're trying to find homes for them and when we last tried nobody wanted them bc at that point they didn't get along with humans at all, so fingers crossed that when they get more friendly someone will adopt them. I'd love to take them all in myself but I live with my parents and my dad is allergic :(

barn cats!! so sweet. they might not be super suitable for indoor living since adult feral cats often aren't really socialize-able the way kittens are, though you never know, and sometimes adult feral cats decide they want to be housecats for themselves lol. best of luck, at any rate -- and i hope the cats are able to stay safe, happy, and healthy with your help

[ask meme]

[persianprincess9999]

California Declares an Emergency Over Bird Flu in Cattle