I know that you have almost suppressed the memory of the pandemic. If COVID-19 taught us anything, though, it is that air quality matters! Most people would prefer not to catch a respiratory infection if at all possible. That includes COVID, colds, flu, RSV and whooping cough (pertussis). No one wants to feel terrible for days, weeks or longer. Ask anyone who developed long COVID if they would like to turn back the clock to before COVID. I guarantee you, no one wants to suffer for months or years with debilitating fatigue, shortness of breath, brain fog or any of the dozens of other symptoms that can accompany this condition. What if you could prevent many respiratory infections by checking for viruses in the air you breathe or improving air quality?
Infections and Chronic Conditions:
There are a lot of people who brush off infections as no big deal. But there is a growing body of research that links infection to a wide variety of chronic health conditions. They include:
- Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes
- Heart disease and heart attacks
- Chronic Fatigue Syndrome; aka myalgic encephalomyelitis or ME/CFS
- Strokes
- Multiple sclerosis
- Burkitt’s lymphona
- Gastric ulcers
- Gastric cancer
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Alzheimer disease
Many health professionals have a hard time coming to grips with the idea that infections could trigger long-lasting health consequences. For example, it took infectious disease experts a long time to accept the possibility that some patients developed chronic Lyme disease after infection with the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi.
Then there is ME/CFS (formerly chronic fatigue syndrome). Until long COVID came long some physicians doubted that there even was something described as chronic fatigue syndrome. If COVID taught us anything it is that a lot of people suffer life-changing chronic symptoms after catching an upper respiratory tract infection.
If you ask almost any cardiologist or vascular expert what causes heart attacks and strokes, you will be told that LDL cholesterol is the primary culprit. And yet there is substantial evidence that infection can also contribute. A study published in Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology (October 9, 2024) reveals that a COVID-19 infection resulting from the SARS-CoV-2 virus can increase the risk for heart attacks and strokes.
The risk can last for up to three years after infection and possibly longer. The worse the infection the greater the cardiovascular risk. What is even more important is the idea that the increased risk for a major adverse cardiovascular event (MACE) is almost as much as that seen with conditions such as peripheral artery disease or diabetes. Most doctors do not advise patients that coming down with COVID could increase the risk for a future heart attack or stroke.
Bacteria and Viruses in the Air!
A lot of people believe that catching infections is just part of life. The idea that it could be a good thing to avoid upper respiratory tract infections almost seems like sacrilege. Some visitors to this website insist that the more infections we catch the better. Tell that to someone with chronic fatigue syndrome or long COVID and see how far it gets you.
You cannot see bacteria or viruses. They are way too tiny. A human hair is roughly 80,000 to 100,000 nanometers (nm) wide. The whooping cough bacterium (Bordetella pertussis) is 400 to 800 nanometers in size. The SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19 is about 50 to 140 nm in size. The norovirus that causes an intestinal apocalypse is between 27 nm to 38 nm. No matter how small a bacteria or virus, the damage these pathogens create in the human body can be enormous.
Whooping Cough:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the steps people took to avoid infection with SARS-CoV-2 also reduced transmission of many other infections. Once those measures were relaxed, infections such as respiratory syncytial virus came back strong.
We have been tracking the rise in whooping cough cases over the last several years. After COVID, whooping cough cases tripled from the year before. The CDC logged more than 10,000 cases a couple of years ago, slightly more than were recorded in 2019.
Last week, the CDC reported that the US has topped 16,000 cases in 2024. That’s four time more cases of pertussis than in a comparable time frame last year. The West Coast is being hit especially hard, but whooping cough is a national problem.
That’s partly because many children are not being vaccinated against this very serious respiratory tract infection. The pandemic interfered with some regular well-child visits and contributed to vaccine hesitancy. If mothers are vaccinated during pregnancy, the infants are protected until they are old enough to be vaccinated themselves.
Whooping cough can be prevented with a vaccine given during infancy. Since the disease can kill unvaccinated babies, vaccine hesitancy could put vulnerable children’s lives at risk.
I have a personal interest in whooping cough. That’s because I caught it as a child. That was after I had come down with polio. Both pathogens (poliovirus and Bordetella pertussis) can be caught by by breathing in viral particles. Polio and whooping cough can kill. When I was in a polio ward at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), I was isolated from my family for many weeks. Children around me were dying. I was in traction and could not move because of ropes and pulleys. It was a traumatic experience.
Not long after that, I caught whooping cough. To this day I sound awful when I end up with an upper respiratory tract infection. The cough is scary, probably because of some residual damage done to my lungs from that bout of whooping cough as a youngster.
What is whooping cough like? The New York Times (Aug. 22, 2024) describes it:
“The disease can cause sneezing, a runny nose, fever, watery eyes and fierce fits of coughing. Occasionally, these coughing spells can restrict breathing so intensely that people’s lips, tongues and nailbeds can turn blue from lack of oxygen.”
How Does Whooping Cough Spread?
This bacterium spreads just like SARS-CoV-2. When people cough or sneeze, they create a wave of bacterial particles floating through the air. Anyone within range can breathe in Bordetella pertussis. And just like with COVID, people can start spreading germs before they realize they are sick.
My experiences with polio and whooping cough have made me super sensitive to air quality. I remain disappointed that most people seem so totally unconcerned about this issue. Public health authorities don’t seem to care either. There are no requirements that public establishments, including pharmacies or health care centers, have great fresh air ventilation and air filtration. There are no efforts to monitor carbon dioxide levels, and make that information visible to the public, even though this would be super easy.
Are There Viruses in the Air?
Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have developed an inexpensive monitor that can detect SARS-CoV-2 in the air of a room within about five minutes (Nature Communications, July 10, 2023). This prototype takes advantage of improved aerosol sampling technology as well as ultrasensitive biosensing techniques.
The researchers conclude:
“Our pAQ [pathogen Air Quality] monitor is suited for point-of-need surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 variants in indoor environments and can be adapted for multiplexed detection of other respiratory pathogens of interest. Widespread adoption of such technology could assist public health officials with implementing rapid disease control measures.”
What Other Viruses in the Air Could Be Detected?
The developers of this technology suggest that their instruments could easily be adjusted to detect other types of viruses such as influenza, rhinoviruses (colds) or respiratory syncytial virus. Neurologist Dr. John Cirrito is a professor of neurology at Washington University School of Medicine.
He points out:
“There is nothing at the moment that tells us how safe a room is. 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.”
He also says the monitor could be used to detect staph or strep infections in hospitals. These create all kinds of mischief in clinics and hospitals.
I knew a wonderful woman who had knee replacement surgery. She did great…for several days. Then a C. diff infection created havoc and eventually killed her. It would be wonderful if such a monitor could make sure that there were no infectious particles in recovery rooms!
We would love to see such monitors in hospitals, pharmacies, banks, supermarkets, schools and anywhere else people gather. If frequent air sampling results were posted prominently, say on a large electronic screen, you would know if it was safe to enter or if you would need to wear a mask for your protection.
Masks to Prevent Infections from Viruses in the Air:
We have heard from hundreds of visitors to this website that masks don’t work. Really? Would you be willing to undergo surgery if the doctors and nurses were not wearing masks? Of course not!
Here is what the Association for Professionals in Infection Control and Epidemiology has to say (Feb. 17, 2023):
“COVID-19 and other respiratory infectious diseases are primarily spread through respiratory droplets in the air that are released when a person talks, coughs, or sneezes. When worn consistently and effectively, face masks and respirators are helpful in preventing the spread of COVID-19 and other respiratory diseases. They act as a barrier to prevent inhalation of infectious respiratory droplets and can keep infectious particles from spreading into the air from infected people.”
Why Don’t Studies Show That Masks Work?
Research has produced conflicting results. For the anti-maskers, this is proof that masks are a waste of time. But here’s the problem.
If you have watched people wearing masks in any public place you know that:
1) Not all masks are created equal. Most masks are not very effective because they are not N-95s. They may be fabric or surgical masks that have elastic behind the ears. These do not filter air effectively.
2) Most masks do not fit well. There are gaps around the nose, cheeks and chin. If you wear glasses and they fog up when you wear a mask, air is escaping. That is proof that the mask does not fit correctly.
3) Many people do not wear masks correctly. Admit it, you have seen a lot of people wearing their masks as chin straps. The other mistake is to push the mask below the nose. The mask becomes totally ineffective in such situations.
I could go on, but trying to test the value of masks when there is such variability in quality, fit and technique makes results questionable at best. For all the doubters, would you want to sit next to someone who has tuberculosis without a mask?
Tuberculosis: Still a Deadly Airborne Infectious Disease!
TB is contagious, though it is not as easily transmitted as the flu or COVID. According to a guy I admire, John Green, 30,000 people died of TB last week. Learn more about TB and a drug to cure it at this link. It’s worth your time, I promise!
Tuberculosis is hard to treat. People have to take antibiotics for 6 to 12 months. Perhaps you have forgotten the old name for this disease: White Death!
Who Died From TB?
Here is a partial list from an article in the Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy, Sept. 1, 1999:
- Robert Louis Stevenson
- George Orwell
- D. H. Lawrence
- Chopin
- Keats
- Shelley
At the end of the 19th century, three fourths of the prisoners in Massachusetts died from tuberculosis.
What About Your Immune System vs. Viruses in the Air?
Many visitors to this website tout the value of the immune system for fighting off disease. No one will argue with good immune health. But tuberculosis is still here! And so is whooping cough, MRSA (methicillin-resistant staph) and norovirus.
No matter how good your immune system may be, norovirus will make you wish you could have avoided it. See this article to find out how easily it is transmitted and how you will feel if you catch it.
Final Words:
A fast, accurate, air-testing system could be a game changer when it comes to airborne infectious agents. If public places had to monitor the quality of their air and make the results visible, people could take appropriate action.
Now, do I really think hospitals, supermarkets, churches, pharmacies or big box stores will voluntarily reveal if there are viruses in the air? Of course not.
They know that if a big electronic sign revealed high concentrations of influenza virus circulating in the building, you would probably turn around and go somewhere else. But what if all such establishments had to test and reveal the quality of the air in building? They would have to make sure the air was “clean” if they wanted your business.
If you knew that there were high levels of influenza virus circulating in your local grocery store, you might opt for a supermarket with no flu. If you knew that levels of cold viruses were moderate at your pharmacy, you might be more likely to wear an N-95 mask that fits snugly around your mouth and nose when you pick up a prescription.
The bottom line is that this new technology is promising. It will likely take time to develop commercial air quality devices that are affordable. We wish the researchers good luck in commercializing their proof-of-concept pAQ [pathogen Air Quality] monitors!
Someday public health authorities may have the power to require such monitors in hospitals, doctors’ offices, pharmacies and other vulnerable spaces. That would be a huge incentive to reduce viruses in the air you breathe. Carbon dioxide monitors are available right now, though. I believe businesses should have to reveal CO2 levels so visitors could decide whether the air quality is good or bad. Read more at this link. You will learn what CO2 levels are safe and when you should exit a building because the levels are too high.
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