#Influenza

[bellysoupset]

Hell yeah would ADORE a part two with Leo taking care of both of them?! He’s all “aren’t you two supposed to be doctors? How the hell did you let it get this bad” **proceeds to look after them like an absolute champ** 🍄

Not as much dialogue as you'd like, but who can blame them, they're very sick!

Part 2!

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Fridays were Leo's favorite day of the week. Not only because the weekend was near, but because he was able to leave work at 5 PM, normally, and Jonah had the morning shift at the hospital, so he would have been home since 2 PM. It was the best feeling in the world to come home to the apartment organized, because Jon was a neat freak, dinner already planned and his fiancé reading on the couch. It was a taste of forever.

So it was much to Leo's disappointment when he arrived home at 5:20 PM that day and found all the pillows from the couch thrown around and no Jonah. JD was frolicking in the living room, running to him as soon as he crossed the threshold, the little minx. Leo crouched down, "what are you doing, uh?" he pet her behind the ear, picking her up and dropping his suitcase on the messed up couch, "where's dad?"

It was weird to not find Jonah anywhere, not even a note or text telling Leo if he had gone on a grocery run or something. It was weirder when Jonah didn't text him back as Leo typed "Where are you? I'm home" and Leo was more than a little annoyed as he called Jon multiple times, as the hours passed, and received no answer.

As the clock ticked 8 PM, Leo's good humor had vanished and even his annoyance had been replaced by panic. Something was wrong and he could feel it deep in his bones, so Leo paced the living room as he called Wendy and got no answer.

"Hello?" Luke sounded confused as he picked up the phone at 8:30, "Leo?"

"Luke!" Leo breathed out, voice trembling as his heart hammered. Wendy not picking up her phone at all made him feel clammy, thoughts spiraling. They were probably together, right? For a second he considered all of his friends together without him knowing, "Jonah's missing."

"...What? What do you mean missing?!" Lucas voice raised as he spoke and Leo heard Bella talking in the background.

"Missing! I came home at 5 and he was gone and he's not answering his phone, not texting, and his car is not in the garage and Wendy's not picking up her phone either and- and the hospital said he's not there-" Leo pressed a hand to his face, trying to calm down, "I hope he's at Wendy's- I-"

"Babe," Lucas said and it took Leo a second to realize he wasn't speaking with him, "can you call Wendy? Leo's calling her and she's not picking up."

"Yeah, of course-" Bella's voice was louder, echoey as Luke put the phone on speaker. Leo sat down on the couch and JD crawled on his lap, pressing her head to his chin as they waited with bated breath as Bella's phone rung and rung, "uh... She's not picking up... I'll try again."

Leo's phone beeped and he pulled it off his ear quickly, thinking it was Jonah, but instead it was another doctor, Claire, who shared a shift with him.

Claire Hathaway 🩺: Hi Leo! IDK about Jon, but the hospital requested I fill in for Wendy this evening. She left early bc she's sick. Maybe that's why she's not picking up her phone?

Leo let out a little relieved sigh. This at least explained why Wendy wasn't picking up her phone, although it didn't explain anything about Jonah. He assumed Jon had left with her, probably driven her home, but why the fuck was he unable to pick up his phone-

"Leo?" Lucas' voice cut through his thoughts and Leo shook his head to focus himself.

"Sorry, uh- Claire, she's a doctor, texted me. She said Wendy left early because she was sick..."

"Oh, so Jon's probably with her," Bella sounded chill, not worried at all, "right?"

"Yeah, Leo, he's probably just helping her around-"

"I'm going over there," Leo interrupted, not minding one bit if he sounded overprotective or possessive. Something was not right and he could tell. Jonah would not ignore his 30 different texts, no matter how busy he was, "I- I'll let you guys know."

"Do you even have a key?" Bella snorted, sounding slightly amused, "kid, don't you think you're being a little-"

"Bell," Luke cut her off, before Leo could snap at her, "not now. Bell has a key to Wen's place, you can stop by to get it, Leo."

The blonde let out a sigh, thankful for Lucas forethought at stopping Bella and for his problem solving, "yeah, I'll stop by in 15, okay? Thanks."

During the whole drive there, Leo left his phone connected to his car's bluetooth, trying to call Jon again. Lucas was waiting for him, looking like he was fresh out of the shower, wet hair sticking out.

"Text me if you him?" Luke asked, walking to the car so Leo didn't need to get out, handing him Wendy's emergency keys, hanging on Bell's miniature guitar keychain, "and if you need anything?"

"Yeah, absolutely," Leo took the keys, taking a deep breath, "I swear to God, if they're just binge watching some show, I'll skin him alive."

Luke snorted at that, rolling his eyes, "as you should."

It was extremely weird to go up to Wendy's floor all by himself. Not that he had never been to her apartment alone, but he had never broken in and Leo couldn't help but hesitate as he unlocked the door.

However, as soon as he entered the place, he knew he had been right to show up. Wendy's purse was fallen on the ground, which triggered sirens in his mind, as she'd never carelessly throw her purse down like that. Jonah's phone was on the shelves that lined her entry wall, abandoned and marking only 10% of battery. 23 missed calls from Leo, 41 new texts from Leo and Lucas.

"Jonah?" Leo called, loudly, picking up Wendy's purse and planting it on the shelf, "Wendy?"

None of the lights were on, which again, horrifying. Leo switched on the lights, walking further inside, "guys?"

They, obviously, weren't in the living room. Not in the kitchen either... The guest bathroom looked like a minor fight had happened in it. The towel holder was broken, the towel crumpled on the ground, as well as Wendy's rainbow rug was tangled up and kicked away, there was blood on a tile-

"JONAH!" Leo shouted now, getting out of the bathroom and rushing to Wendy's room, his heart hammering in his ears. His mouth felt dry and the minute he walked in, it took him a whole half minute to understand what he was looking at.

Jonah was sprawled on Wendy's bed, lying on his stomach, arms all out- "Jonah," Leo leaped forward, hands shaking as he planted a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder and could contain his relief as he heard a snore. He couldn't even be angry, for a split second he had thought the worst, "Jon-" Leo pulled on his arm and only then did he feel the heat rolling off of him, "Christ, you're burning up..."

Leo looked around the room, head spinning as he situated himself. Jonah was fine. Found. Burning up... Where was Wendy?

He jumped up, circling the bed and genuinely thinking he'd just find her lying on the rug. Weirder things had happened so far. Instead, he found her in the suite's bathroom, curled up in front of the toilet.

She was tiny to begin with, so Leo's heart squeezed with a new wave of panic as he took in just how she had curled up into herself. Unlike Jonah, who was still wearing the same clothes from the morning, Leo could tell Wendy had tried stripping some of it off, because she was only wearing her bra, no shirt, and lilac pants that had a bloody mark on the knee.

"What the fuck..." He crouched down, touching her arm. Wendy was warmer than Jon, if that was possible, but she was also shaking and twitching like a puppy left out in the cold. Her face was really red and, unlike Jonah who was covered in sweat, she was dry to the touch, "Wendy?" Leo uncurled her, "Wen, wake up. Wendy-" he shook her, a little harder than necessary, and instead of her waking up, her head only lolled from side to side.

He should call a fucking ambulance.

Leo could smell the stomach acid in the bathroom, before he even realized the vomit in the toilet bowl. It wasn't much, just some chunks floating away, and he pressed the flush, while chewing on his lip and trying to figure out what the hell he should do. Ambulance. What would Jonah do? Or Wendy?

Making an executive decision, Leo threw her limp arm over his neck and picked her up, carrying her to the tub. He turned on the faucet, wetting his hands and starting to splash the water all over her face and neck, while the bathtub filled up, "c'mon, c'mon, c'mon-"

Wendy was completely unresponsive, which was not good, and then there was Jonah-

Leo grabbed Wen's wrist, to keep her from drowning, and then stretched his body as much as he could, stealing a glance at the bedroom. Jonah hadn't moved a muscle... "Stay here," the blonde mumbled, to the unconscious woman, before grabbing her pink towel and running it under the faucet until it was dripping wet.

He ran back to the bedroom, straddling Jon and grabbing his shirt unceremoniously, mess be damned. Jon let out a whimper at being rolled over, his eyes threatening to open, but seeming glued shut. He whined as Leo draped the soaked towel over his naked chest, but despite frowning in his sleep, didn't wake up at all.

He knew Wendy kept her first aid kit in the kitchen, whatever reason for, so Leo made a run for it. His head was spinning as he stuck the thermometer in Jonah's mouth, before rushing back to the bathroom.

Wendy had slid down on the tub, but the faucet was slow and the water only reached her collarbones. Still, Leo grabbed her by the armpits, forcing her up.

"No..." Wendy rasped out and he froze, hands squeezing her arms.

"Wendy!? Wen," he shook her again, since her eyes were still shut, "Wen, are you awake?!"

Instead of answering him, her teeth started to shatter.

Ambulance, the little voice in his head insisted and Leo hesitated, reaching for his phone on his back pocket. Wendy let out a groan and all thoughts flew out of his mind as Leo lunged forward, cupping her head, "hey- Hey, Wen, open your eyes," he patted her cheeks, gently, "open your eyes, Wen."

Half moons of drowsy green stared at him and Leo let out a hysterical chuckle, wetting his hands again and now wiping them all over her face, pushing back her wavy hair, "thank fuck..." he whispered, continuing to do that until the violent shivering and teeth shattering eased and she seemed to be breathing normally instead of the weird hyperventilating from before.

He needed to know how high was her temperature, Leo decided, then remembered about the abandoned thermometer with Jon. Fuck.

Jonah was a big guy, much bigger than Wendy, so despite clearly being severely ill, he was holding up better than she was. The towel had helped and while his temperature still read 102.3ºF, his frown had vanished and his eyes opened slightly as Leo retrieved the device.

"Uhmmmm..." He groaned, head lolling and Leo sat on the edge of the bed, cupping his face.

"Jon? Angel?" He whispered, despite the fact there was really no reason for him to keep his voice low. It just felt odd to talk loudly when he was the only conscious person in the room.

"Hmm-Leo....?" Jonah's eyes struggled to focus on him, but Leo's heart did a leap nonetheless.

"Yes," he leaned in, relieved, "I'm here-"

"Where'ssswen?" Jon slurred, looking around, his eyes widening with panic. Leo quickly grabbed him by the shoulders as it looked like Jon was about to sit up.

"Bathroom," Leo pushed him down against the, now wet, pillows, "shhh- I need you to drink some water for me, okay?" He stroked Jon's cheek, eyes scanning the room for Wendy's sparkly water bottle.

Thank God she was such a methodic person, Leo thought, finding the bottle on the opposite bedside table. It was half full and Leo was sure covered in germs, but considering they were already sharing whatever plague was this... He pushed the hard plastic straw in Jonah's mouth, "one gulp, baby."

Jonah obeyed, eyes slipping closed, and he took not one, but three gulps before grimacing and turning his head, causing the water to spill down his chin.

Leo stroked his arm again, retrieving the towel to wet it again, "I'll be right back," he promised, taking the bottle and the thermometer with him as well back to the bathroom.

Wendy was passed out, for good, and she didn't even stir as Leo maneuvered her around as if she was a ragdoll, stripping her of the lilac pants — there was the blood he had seen on the bathroom floor, a nasty cut on her knee and the blood had dried down her calf — and slipping the thermometer in her mouth as well.

He wet the towel once again, rushing back to the bedroom and now Jonah was sitting up against the pillows, but still had his eyes closed. They jumped open as Leo covered him with the cold towel once more, alarmed and bloodshot.

"Shhh, it's just me-" Leo shushed him, doing the same he had done with Wendy, planting his wet cold hands on Jonah's face and pushing his curls back, rewetting his hands with the bottle of water so he could do this multiple times.

Jonah let out a groan as he did that, curling up and Leo frowned, "Jon?"

"Wendy'sssick..." His head lolled to the side, "very-"

"I know," Leo stroked his cheek, "I know, I'm taking care of her too, don't worry. Worry about getting better," he leaned in, kissing his boyfriend's temple, "drink some more water, angel."

He left Jonah with the bottle this time, returning to the bathroom. Wendy hadn't stirred and Leo knelt by the side of the bathtub, retrieving the thermometer. 102.8º F, very alarming, but at least it wasn't over 103ºF, as Leo knew from Jonah rambling about it all the time that temperature meant hospital immediately.

"Goddammit," Leo sighed, now using the showerhead to start washing her hair. He kicked off his shoes and rolled his pants, sitting behind her, on the edge of the tub, and tipping Wendy's head back so no water got in her nose as he started to let the cold water run through her hair.

It took a couple minutes, but then he saw movement under her lids and Wendy let out a whine, "stooop..."

Leo smiled, continuing the makeshift hair washing for another ten minutes, until suddenly he heard a coughing fit in the other room. He immediately was jumping into action, propping Wendy back against the tub and rushing to the room, just in time to see Jon sit up enough to throw up all over his lap.

It wasn't much, basically just water and bile, but he coughed as if he was drowning in it and Leo's heart squeezed with worry as he crossed the room, cupping his hand on Jon's forehead.

"It's okay, I got you," he rubbed his boyfriend's back with his free hand, "get it up, angel, you'll feel better soon..." he hated the choked noise, Jon struggling to breathe, and the panicked sensation he was in way over his head.

Jonah let out a groan, a small burp sneaking up on him and he hung, folded in the middle, until Leo grabbed a clear end of the towel to wipe his mouth.

"I know you feel awful, baby, I'm sorry," he cooed, standing still as he waited to see if Jon was going to be sick again. He wasn't, instead he tipped to the side, so he could press his face to Leo's tummy, hiding it there. Leo let out a sigh, stroking his cheek.

Eventually he was forced to push Jonah away, so he could get rid of the ruined towel and check on Wendy again. Her fever had lowered, to 102.4ºF, so Leo picked her up and carried her back to the bed, figuring he'd have an easier time if he wasn't scared of Wen drowning every time he turned his back.

Finally, Leo settled on the foot of the bed, fishing out his phone in order to text Luke that he had found them.

TBC

[crippled-peeper]

Its 2025!

Here’s some things I think are important to remember as we go forward:

It’s never too late to get the Covid booster.

It’s never too late to get the flu shot.

It’s never too late to get tested for HIV or other STDs.

It’s never too late to start masking again.

It’s never too late to start taking care of yourself.

It’s never too late to start a new path in life.

Thanks :)

[queeroldweapon]

It’s cold/flu/covid season again, please wear your goddam masks and get vaccinated if you’re able to

[reasonsforhope]

"A team of researchers at Washington University in St. Louis has developed a real-time air monitor that can detect any of the SARS-CoV-2 virus variants that are present in a room in about 5 minutes.

The proof-of-concept device was created by researchers from the McKelvey School of Engineering and the School of Medicine at Washington University...

The results are contained in a July 10 publication in Nature Communications that provides details about how the technology works.

The device holds promise as a breakthrough that - when commercially available - could be used in hospitals and health care facilities, schools, congregate living quarters, and other public places to help detect not only the SARS-CoV-2 virus, but other respiratory virus aerosol such as influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) as well.

“There is nothing at the moment that tells us how safe a room is,” Cirrito said, in the university’s news release. “If you are in a room with 100 people, you don’t want to find out five days later whether you could be sick or not. The idea with this device is that you can know essentially in real time, or every 5 minutes, if there is a live virus in the air.”

How It Works

The team combined expertise in biosensing with knowhow in designing instruments that measure the toxicity of air. The resulting device is an air sampler that operates based on what’s called “wet cyclone technology.” Air is sucked into the sampler at very high speeds and is then mixed centrifugally with a fluid containing a nanobody that recognizes the spike protein from the SARS-CoV-2 virus. That fluid, which lines the walls of the sampler, creates a surface vortex that traps the virus aerosols. The wet cyclone sampler has a pump that collects the fluid and sends it to the biosensor for detection of the virus using electrochemistry.

The success of the instrument is linked to the extremely high velocity it generates - the monitor has a flow rate of about 1,000 liters per minute - allowing it to sample a much larger volume of air over a 5-minute collection period than what is possible with currently available commercial samplers. It’s also compact - about one foot wide and 10 inches tall - and lights up when a virus is detected, alerting users to increase airflow or circulation in the room.

Testing the Monitor

To test the monitor, the team placed it in the apartments of two Covid-positive patients. The real-time air samples from the bedrooms were then compared with air samples collected from a virus-free control room. The device detected the RNA of the virus in the air samples from the bedrooms but did not detect any in the control air samples.

In laboratory experiments that aerosolized SARS-CoV-2 into a room-sized chamber, the wet cyclone and biosensor were able to detect varying levels of airborne virus concentrations after only a few minutes of sampling, according to the study.

“We are starting with SARS-CoV-2, but there are plans to also measure influenza, RSV, rhinovirus and other top pathogens that routinely infect people,” Cirrito said. “In a hospital setting, the monitor could be used to measure for staph or strep, which cause all kinds of complications for patients. This could really have a major impact on people’s health.”

The Washington University team is now working to commercialize the air quality monitor."

-via Forbes, July 11, 2023

-

Holy shit. I know it's still early in the technology and more testing will inevitably be needed but holy shit.

Literally, if it bears out, this could revolutionize medicine. And maybe let immunocompromised people fucking go places again

Also, for those who don't know, Nature Communications is a very prestigious scientific journal that focuses on Pretty Big Deal research. Their review process is incredibly rigorous. This is an absolutely HUGE credibility boost to this research and prototype

[covid-safer-hotties]

"Just a cold" that's putting infants in the ICU.

And There's a third contender:

What stops covid, flu, and RSV? Quality masks KF94 or better worn in public and healthcare specifically.

If you don't mask, you're literally killing and disabling babies. Each one of those cases is easily preventable. Why aren't you doing your part to prevent them?

[vintage-sweden]

"Seth and Greta, reunited after Spanish flu", 1919, Sweden.

[yesterdaysprint]

The Grainfield Cap Sheaf, Kansas, January 16, 1914

[weirdlookindog]

Otto Seitz (1846–1912) - The Black Kitchen of Death

illustration from Jugend #24, 1896

[reality-detective]

Influenza drugs in 1959 🤔

[guavagyal]

still wearing a mask because people in my area think it's their right to spread viruses and think they're too cute to wear one (and they never are!)

[bellysoupset]

Super sick Wendy + Jonah - Part 3

this is the caretaker palooza

-------

Wendy's head was pounding. She couldn't quite figure out which way was up or down and felt incredibly nauseous, but her mouth was so dry that even moving her tongue hurt.

She let out a groan in the back of her throat, forcing her eyes open. Everything was blurry shapes, but she could hear voices far away... "Here," someone cupped her neck, helping her half sit up and pressing something against her lips, "take a sip, Wen."

Vince?

She obediently took a gulp of water and felt instinct kick in, her whole body lurching forward so she could clutch the bottle and greedily drink. The person pulled the bottle back, easily winning against her weak hold and Wendy let out a whimper. She was so thirsty.

"I'll give you more in a minute," he promised her and Wendy realized it was Luke's voice. Slowly she started to come to her senses. Luke was sitting by her side, but she was almost fully in his arms, back resting against his chest as he pressed a cold washcloth to her forehead.

She turned her head, trying to ignore the way the whole room swam at the small motion. Jonah was leaning out of the bed, half of his body out, shirtless, back convulsing-

"Jon...?" Wendy reached in, blindly, only to realize there was someone else sitting with on her bed. Leo was the one holding the bucket under Jon's chin, cooing softly.

She turned her face again, burying it in Luke's chest, and he rubbed her back, "I need you to take some meds," his voice was very soft, "alright?"

Alright. Wendy nodded, but didn't move, and Luke fed her the pills, with another gulp of water. It settled in her belly like a brick and she gagged, a sick burp coming up. Lucas didn't move at all, continuing to hug her, "is it staying down?"

Wendy swallowed in, breathing slowly through her mouth. Her nose was blocked. She hesitated, before nodding and yawning, the room becoming a blur once again as all her energy vanished.

The next time she came to be, she was wearing different clothes. Which was concerning considering the only people she recalled were Lucas and Leo. Wendy grimaced at the thought of one of them changing her, only to let out a sigh as she heard Bella's voice down the hall.

She stumbled up, grabbing on her headboard and then on her walls as she put a foot in front of the other. Her knee was throbbing and Wendy couldn't remember when she had fallen, but there was a nasty cut on it, now covered with band-aids and peeking out from the stretchy biker shorts Bella had dressed her with. The fever had broken, because she felt warm and clammy, but at least her body no longer felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.

Nevertheless, she was hyperventilating by the time she made it down the hallway.

Jonah was sprawled on the couch, his head on Leo's lap, a bucket on the ground under him, but it seemed to be empty. He was hugging a Gatorade bottle and drifting in and out of consciousness.

Leo didn't look much better than his boyfriend, he had dark circles under his eyes and his blonde hair was greasy and sticking out in weird directions. Still, he was smiling at Bell, who was sitting on one of the bean bags of Wendy's living room, between Luke's legs, reading something off her phone.

Lyrics, Wendy thought vaguely, pressing her forehead to the wall and regretting getting up from the bed. She let out a cough, which caused the whole room to erupt with noise.

"Santa Maria Madre de Dios- What are you doing up!?" Bella squealed and Wendy let out a groan as the ginger jumped up and rushed through the room, wrapping her into an embrace, "aw Tink, you shouldn't be up, you're not well..."

She guided Wendy through the living room and Jonah curled up his legs so she could sit on the couch with him. Wendy collapsed with a relieved sigh, catching Leo's worried glance in her direction. Instead of blushing and looking away quickly, he stared openly.

"How are you feeling, Wendy?"

Oh she had scared him, she thought with a snort, letting her head fall against the couch's arm, "dizzy..."

"You haven't eaten in a while," Luke said, getting up from the bean bag as well, "do you think you can handle soup? Or just toasts?" at the mention of food, although she expected to feel another wave of nausea, Wendy's belly let out a famished growl.

She blushed, curling up more, "uhm- Maybe just toast for now..." Bella was hovering by the couch, clearly wanting to do something to help. Wendy gestured to her outfit, "where did you get these ugly clothes?"

The ginger let out a cackle —loud enough it seemed to snap Jon back into reality — shaking her head in disbelief, "never change, Wen," she teased, leaning in and planting a kiss on top of Wendy's head, "I'm glad you're feeling well enough to bitch about your outfit."

"Wen," Jon rasped out and Wendy's head snapped into his direction. Last she remembered of him he had been in a bad shape. Burning up, completely unresponsive as she shoved his shoulder before running out of the bed to get sick in the bathroom... Asking her if she was leaving...

She frowned, locking her legs with his and letting out a sigh as Luke came back to the living room, holding out a bottle blue Gatorade and some dry toasts for her, "small bites," he instructed, as if he was the doctor. Wendy noticed Leo quietly moving the empty bucket from under Jon, towards her.

She took a small bite, under all their watchful eyes and then a sip of the electrolyte drink. Her mouth exploded with flavor despite how bland the items were and for a second she had to stop chewing and breathe through the queasiness, but soon the hunger got the best of her and she swallowed in.

Leo was staring at her, "is it staying down?" he asked, wearily, and Wendy would've bought his almost annoyed tone, wasn't it for the fact her memory was being juggled and she remembered him carrying her out of the bathroom, terrified.

"Yeah," she took another bite, then smiled at Jonah to calm him down, while Luke and Bell returned to their previous position.

Wendy didn't say anything as she continued to eat, Jonah equally quiet as he sipped his drink and dozed off once again, waking up not even ten minutes later in order to curl up and muffle a string of sickly little burps against Leo's thigh.

She crawled closer, so she could plant a hand on his arm, and Jonah raised his head, "I'm alright..." he rasped out, "stomach's just bitching, I'm not gonna be sick again..."

"What time is it?" Wendy yawned, looking around. It was bright out, but she couldn't pinpoint the exact hour.

"A little past 3 PM," Luke answered, checking his own phone, "I texted Vin, to let him know what was going on. You should let him know you're awake."

Wendy opened a thankful smile, although she wasn't sure if she was more glad that Luke had had this forethought or that the two idiots were on talking terms.

Which, again, brought her back to Jon's weird accusation, "I'm not leaving," she blurted out, not bothering to pretend everyone in the room clearly wasn't in the weird gossip that had triggered Jonah's question. They were into each other's business, always, "to Doveport, I guess. I don't know who came up with this ridiculous idea, but I'm not leaving."

Jonah raised a shaky hand, pointing at Bella, "she did," he tattled, a hint of humor in his voice, and Bell let out a gasp, blushing.

"Traitor?!" She scoffed, while Luke frowned at his wife and Leo let out a snort, "all I said was that you were acting weird, okay? You're always there nowadays, you're saying the town is great, that we should visit-"

Wendy rolled her eyes, taking another sip, "you could've asked me," she scoffed, but there was no heat to her voice. She didn't have any energy to be annoyed and it wasn't that big of an offense to begin with, "I'm not leaving."

Jonah grumbled, "told you so," slowly sitting up with Leo's help and Bella pouted, crossing her arms.

"You're acting weird," she defended herself, while Luke quietly scolded her that Wendy was too sick for this conversation. The brunette let out a huff at her friend's antics, looking at Jon, who was watching her like a hawk, even weak as he was.

Another hour went by, until Bella and Luke packed up their stuff to leave, Leo deciding he wasn't going anywhere until the other two were back on their feet.

"You let me know if you need anything, kiddo," Wendy overheard Bell tell Leo, "I'm off work this week, I can swing by any hour."

Did anyone know what had happened?

Wendy caught Bell's eyes and deep down she understood that nope, they hadn't told anyone and weren't going to. The ginger crouched down next to the couch, pulling her into a hug, "try not to die while we're away," she berated lightly, messing Wen's hair, "you call me if you're sick of them-" Bella gestured over her shoulder, to where Luke, Leo and Jon were regrouping, Jonah now on his feet, "and I'll come by, alright?"

"Okay," Wendy hugged her back, "thank you for coming, you gossip."

Bell wrinkled her nose, shoving her off lightly, "Jonah's such a snitch," she grumbled, getting up and taking Luke's hand in hers.

As soon as the couple was gone, Leo got up from the couch as well, to take a shower, since he hadn't had one in a long while and had clearly been cleaning the place all over, as well as dealing with them.

"You two stay put," he glared at them and Jonah let out a little chuckle, leaning his head back on the couch.

"Yes Dr. Wagner," he teased, causing Wendy to perk up.

"Dr. Wagner-Banks," she corrected, causing Leo to turn cherry red as he walked away.

When he was gone, Jon turned to Wendy, taking her hand in his and squeezing it, "I'm sorry," he said, "I was supposed to be taking care of you..."

She rolled her eyes, intertwining their fingers, "we were probably both exposed yesterday- Well, the day before yesterday," it was so weird to have a whole missing day in her memories, "and if you hadn't brought me home, I don't think anyone would've noticed-"

Jonah's whole face contorted in disgust, "shut up," he said sharply, "I would've noticed. Vince would have. Bell too- Shut up."

Wendy opened a little smile at his explosion, rolling her eyes. It was cute, but it was also an objective fact that she had a million activities and because of that her disappearance would take longer to be noticed by her friend group.

"I didn't want you to leave," Jonah confessed after a minute of silence, his voice sounding like he had gargled with glass, "I know it was dumb to just assume so, I just- You're my best friend, and I love you, I didn't want you to leave."

"Good thing I was never leaving then?" Wendy grinned, scooting closer so she could rest her head on his shoulder. Jon wrapped an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer, "I love you too, Jon."

She could feel his hesitance, a breath sucked in and held, but Wendy said nothing as she heard her best friend's brain working things up, "would you be my maid of honor?" he asked quietly, after a beat, squeezing her, "please? There's no one else I'd want more than you."

If Wendy wasn't so dehydrated, she'd have probably started to cry. As it was, all she did was pull back with a smile, before throwing her arms around his neck and squeezing him into a hug, "of course I would, Jon, of course!" Wendy breathed out, groaning as he hugged her back just as tightly, pressing a kiss to her temple.

[thebookishwallflower]

I want to make a post to inform people about the current situation with the bird flu (/avian flu/H5N1) outbreaks.

I don't want to cause panic but do want to spread information.

This is especially important if you live in an area that has a news system you don't trust to give accurate, timely, or honest news about something like a possible new pandemic, use your own judgement.

If that applies it is going to be very important to make sure you stay informed and follow these H5N1 outbreaks yourself and know how to best protect yourself.

I am no expert, but I do know a good bit about disease and influenza in particular, and have been following the H5N1 outbreaks as they've been happening, so under the cut I'm going to do my best to inform everyone I can.

Please stay safe, stay informed, and spread information, not germs.

What's bird flu and why do I care? (What's bird flu and why do I care?)

Avian flu and bird flu mean the same thing, an influenza virus that (primarily) infects birds. H5N1 denotes a specific strain of avian influenza. H5N1 can spillover (when a pathogen spreads from it's normal host organism to a new host organism) from animals to humans.

How could I get H5N1? (How could I get H5N1?)

Human to human transmission has not been observed yet (12/1/24) during this current outbreak. You can get this from contact with wild birds, especially water fowl, domestic birds, cattle, pigs, horses, dogs, and bats. It is also possible to get from raw (unpasteurized) milk and undercooked meat from infected animals.

What's the big deal then? (What's the big deal then?)

The common flu is not very pathogenic. How pathogenic something is determines how sick something makes the host, something that is highly pathogenic can cause severe disease. H5N1 is considered a HPAI, Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza.

H5N1 is also a Type A influenza virus, most known Type A influenza viruses can infect birds. There is one Type A human flu in circulation at the moment, however it isn't very prevalent.

"IAV poses a significant risk of zoonotic infection, host switch, and the generation of pandemic viruses. IAVs can infect humans and a variety of animals, such as pigs, horses, marine mammals, cats, dogs, and birds (S1)."

IAV - Influenza A Viruses | Zoonotic infection - when an infectious disease of a non-human host infects a human host | Host switch - when a cross-species transmission of a pathogen can lead to successful, stable, and continuous infections

Every species the flu infects, the more strains that pop up under a sub-type IAV, the possibility for recombination increases. "Recombination occurs when at least two viral genomes [or strains] co-infect the same host cell and exchange genetic segments (S2)."

The flu is pretty good at recombination, when given the chance. It is also really good at mutating, and fast. If there were to be a recombination event and a new strain evolved (this would be called an antigenic shift) that was highly pathogenic, highly infectious (good at spreading, which H5N1 is), that could then infect humans and cause human-to-human transmission we might have a pandemic on our hands. This has not shown signs of happening during this outbreak*, this is what to look out for.

This (a recombination event) is what caused the 1918 pandemic during WW1. This pandemic killed an estimated 50 to 100 million people in 1918, in a world with a population of around 2 billion. 7.1 million died of COVID 19, as of 11/9/24 (S3), from a population of around 8 billion.

We know more, we are prepared, it's not guaranteed to happen, and it's not guaranteed to be as bad. But the possibilities are endless and it's extremely important to be prepared and stay informed.

So what do I do? (So what do I do?)

Again, stay informed, and that might mean checking independent news sources, the CDC website, and more, to keep yourself updated, especially if you know your local news won't do it for you. You should also familiarize yourself with the symptoms of influenza, if you have it, stay home.

Keep yourself safe, we had a pandemic already, you know the drill. Cover your nose and mouth when sneezing/coughing, wash your hands, sanitize your hands, and get your flu shot. And, in addition, avoid contact with wild birds, poultry, pigs, and cattle if you can.

In the event that this gets worse, social distancing is very important, being outdoors, wearing a mask, and all the stuff above, you can shed the virus for around a week before you start feeling bad. Keep yourself safe and don't infect anyone else.

If that doesn't sound like it'll do much, I promise you it does. Those are all classified NPI's (non-pharmaceutical interventions) and even epidemiologists were shocked at their impact and importance during the COVID-19 pandemic. They did work, and they were incredibly effective—as long as they were carried out.

I don't want to cause panic or worry anyone, but that is how information ends of suppressed. I want to make everyone aware of what we might face so that we can fight it and be strong and stay safe.

If anyone has any questions, wants any clarification, any corrections, or wants to know some good places to learn more about this stuff please don't hesitate to contact me (@'s, dm's, or asks), I will answer as best I can.

Here's the CDC's page covering the H5 bird flu current situation.

S1 - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5578040/

S2 - https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7106159/

S3 - https://data.who.int/dashboards/covid19/deaths?n=c

*with the exception of this coverage (as a possibility): https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/nov/19/bird-flu-cases-mutation-canada

[whimsimarion]

Hey, guys! Remember Influenza? The daughter of the couple who went to live in Asterix' village after they were mistaken it belonged to them in "Asterix and Caesar's Gift"?

I brought her up mainly because I wanted to say that she was totally valid into falling in love with Asterix.

What a man, indeed!

[blackpinkofficialupdates]

[240624] Jisoo weibo update

Thank you Xiuqi! I love you ❤️