virus

Food Safety and Coronavirus: What do we know so far?

March 27, 2020 by Katherine Baker 1 Comment

Hi everyone! I know I said I’d stop constantly posting about COVID-19 on the blog, but honestly, it seems to be what most people are curious about right now, myself included. We are in a weird spot in the US – the worst is ahead of us, and understandably, many people want to prepare. After looking into what data exists out of personal interest on the topic, I thought I would do a post about food safety and coronavirus.

I am not an infectious disease expert, but I am FDA FSMA Food Safety and Quality Assurance Certified Individual, and I have my MPH. Most often on this blog, I write my posts based on extensive review of scientific literature and expert authority. In this post, I tried my best to synthesize the existing evidence on this emerging topic, and sprinkle in some basic principles from my background in food safety and public health, so please, if I make an “I” statement about what I think is best, feel free to ignore it, and focus on the cited facts, as those sentiments are just my guesses based on my background. I try my best to stay in my lane and stick to sound science, and feel like I may be swerving a little here, particularly because there is so little data on COVID-19 out there right now, but please note that this is an evolving situation, so what we know this week compared to next may change the accuracy of parts of this post. Which brings me to my disclaimer…

Disclaimer: This article was written on March 26, 2020. This information may no longer be present after this date. COVID-19 is a rapidly evolving situation. Please check linked sources for further up-to-date information. Also, because there is so little known about the virus, scientists have made inferences and extrapolations from similar virus. As we continue to understand COVID-19, information may very well change. See https://www.who.int/health-topics/coronavirus for more information.

First, can coronavirus be transmitted through food? How is COVID-19 transmitted?

Before narrowing in on food, let’s talk about what we know about viral infections in general, and what we know about transmission of coronavirus thus far.

As alluded to in the disclaimer above, COVID-19 is a relatively new and novel disease, and we are still learning about it. The science is rapidly emerging and evolving, so the best we can do for now is synthesize the evidence we have, and extrapolate from information we know from studying other viruses.

When it comes to COVID-19, we know the ways in which the virus can be transmitted, however we don’t know precisely how the virus is actually transmitted, and how much each route of transmission is contributing to the spread of the illness.

But generally, there are three major routes of transmission possible for respiratory viruses: the first is via respiratory droplets, which are essentially droplets that are produced when an infected person sneezes or coughs. When these infected droplets land in the mouth or nose of another person, or if they are close enough to the droplets to inhale them, they risk possible exposure to the disease. The CDC has stated this is the primary route of transmission (although again, we quite know the level of each transmission route for sure).

Additionally, COVID-19 can be transmitted by physical contact with virus-infected inanimate objects, meaning it is possible that the virus gets onto a surface, stays on the surface for a period of time, and then could spread to a human if the human picked up the object, and then touched their eyes, nose, or mouth.

COVID-19 can also be transmitted through the air. A recent study published in New England Journal of Medicine found SARS-Cov-2 (the virus that causes the disease COVID-19) could last in aerosols for up to three hours. So, if the conditions are right, and the virus becomes airborne, it could stay in the air, and infect people who inhale it.

A study in China has also shown that COVID-19 was found in feces of infected individuals, and in recovered people, even after their nasal swabs came back as negative for COVID-19, up to 13 days after being discharged from the hospital.

The risk of transmission of COVID-19 from fecal matter is unknown. It’s not presently clear how much of the virus is shed in stool, and whether the virus found in stool is infectious. The CDC has stated that there have been ‘no reports of fecal-oral transmission to date,’ but (and this is my own personal skeptic scientist chiming in, so feel free to ignore this) I am not sure anyone has really been formally tracking transmission mechanisms of sick people.

The WHO has stated that the risk of catching COVID-19 from feces is low, and that ‘while initial investigations suggest the virus may be present in feces in some cases, spread through this route is not a main feature of the outbreak,’ and are continuing to monitor the situation.

I am interested to see more data (as it emerges) on the viral potential of COVID-19 in poop. Because, well, poop is everywhere. Either way, even though fecal-oral transmission does not seem to be a major concern (at least based on what we know right now), the possibility of fecal-oral spread of COVID-19 presents another great argument for vigilant hygiene practices. Wash your hands, friends.

That’s a lot of ways to get sick. So what does that mean for food? Can COVID-19 spread through food?

The answer is, once again, we can’t say things for certain, but most experts think food consumption is not a major route of transmission. According to the CDC, there is ‘no evidence’ of food or food packaging being associated with transmission of COVID-19.

The CDC further explains that the virus is thought to spread mainly from person-to-person via respiratory droplets, which are essentially droplets that are produced when an infected person sneezes or coughs.

When these infected droplets land in the mouth or nose of another person, or if they are close enough to the droplets to inhale them, they risk possible exposure to the disease, etc etc.

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Some Public Health Definitions to Help You Understand COVID-19 News

March 20, 2020 by Katherine Baker 1 Comment

Hi friends. Wow. How are you? I took over a week off of blogging to, much like most of the rest of the world, adjust to my new normal due to the novel coronavirus. If you’re anything like me, you might be finding it hard to focus on tasks like work and schoolwork, as the news is all-engrossing, ever-changing, and at times, very overwhelming. I plan to go back to posting content about non-coronavirus things soon, but before I do, I thought I would make a handy reference list of some common public health definitions to help you understand COVID-19 news.

These phrases are all over that the news these days, so I hope this post helps you understand what they mean, so that you can perhaps better comprehend what’s going on in the world right now.

I’m not an infectious disease epidemiologist or doctor, but I was introduced to many of these phrases during my MPH. Yay for public health.

Read on for some public health definitions for COVID-19 (and public health in general) that are being used by public health experts and journalists to discuss updates of the novel coronavirus.

Also, I didn’t really add photos to this piece. Usually, I add a lot of photos. But I didn’t have any original photos that I felt really made sense here, so I stuck to infographics I made, instead. Feel free to scroll through them!

Epidemiology:

Epidemiology is a data-driven, systematic scientific discipline. It is the study of distribution (frequency, patterns) and determinants (causes, and risk factors) in specific populations (communities, or individuals viewed collectively) and the application of this study to control health problems. It deals with collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data on health and disease. It is sometimes described as the ‘basic science’ of public health.

Epidemic:

An epidemic refers to a condition that affects a large proportion of individuals within a population, community, or region at the same time. An example would be the Zika virus.

Pandemic:

A pandemic is the worldwide spread of a new disease that impacts an exceptionally high proportion of the population.

Endemic:

The phrase ‘endemic’ refers to the baseline level of a disease in a population. It is not necessarily the desired level of the disease in a population (which may be zero), but rather, the baseline or actual amount.

A disease is considered to be endemic when it is maintained at a baseline level in in geographic area. Influenza is considered endemic, as it is predictable to reoccur every year. Some have expressed concern that COVID-19 may become endemic, meaning it comes back repeatedly over time.

Hyperendemic:

A hyperendemic is persistent, high levels of disease.

Influenza pandemic:

An influenza pandemic occurs when a new virus emerges and spreads around the world. Most people do not have immunity to pandemics, which is part of why they are able to spread so much.

Immunity:

Immunity refers to the development of a state of resistance against an infectious agent. Right now, because COVID-19 has never before been transferred to humans, no one had immunity to the disease, which is part of why it is spreading so quickly.

Typically, people develop immunity to a disease via a vaccine or by contracting the disease and developing antibodies (or your body’s defense system) against it. Currently, there is no vaccine for COVID-19. Post-infection immunity to COVID-19 is not completely defined; however, it seems as though most similar viruses lead to post-infection immunity.

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Supplements for Immune Support: What does the science say?

March 6, 2020 by Katherine Baker 3 Comments

With coronavirus reaching pandemic status, there’s a lot of chatter about what individual actions are available to those looking to reduce their risk of disease. I’ve seen some great information about good hygiene and hand washing, and I’ve also seen a lot of misleading information about the disease, its spread, and how to prevent it. I thought this might be a good time to discuss supplements for immune support: are there are supplements that improve immune function and/or any supplements that reduce the risk of getting COVID-19? Let’s take a look at the science.

*Disclaimer: As always, this is general information intended for healthy adults. Your needs may vary based on medical status, lifestyle, or life-stage. Please never replace generalized health information you’ve read online with individualized clinical care.

And please, please use supplements only under the guidance of a health care professional. Many drugs have interactions with certain supplements. It is important to work with a health care provider to tailor what you take, if anything, to your individual needs

First of all, let’s chat about the immune system:

The immune system is your body’s defense system to prevent illness or infection, and includes the skin, bone marrow, the bloodstream, thalamus (a part of the brain), lymphatic nodes, the spleen, and mucosal tissue. Together, these organ systems work to protect the body against pathogens and toxins to keep you healthy.

How does nutrition impact the immune system?

There are several micronutrients that play various roles in supporting immune function.

Vitamins A, B6, C, and E, along with minerals copper, iron, selenium, zinc, and folic acid all play various roles in supporting proper immune function. There is evidence to suggest that deficiencies in these micronutrients may decrease immune function.

But notice that the research is based on nutrient deficiencies decreasing immune function; this does not necessarily mean that taking more or excess of these vitamins and minerals will improve immune function for those who are not deficient.

Eating too few calories can also impact the immune system. Underfueling leads to decreased white blood cells (immune cells that help fight disease) and decreased immune function.

Do supplements improve immune function?

There isn’t much evidence that suggests taking any particular supplement actually improves immune function in any way. In fact, measuring immune function and the body’s ability to ward off certain diseases is a pretty tricky thing to do.

Still, let’s take a dive into what data does exist on popular supplements and immune function.

Vitamin C: Emergen-C, etc

I wrote a whole post about vitamin C that you can read right here. TLDR: Basically, being vitamin C deficient may increase your likelihood of getting sick, but getting more than the recommended amount of vitamin C won’t prevent you from getting sick, or help you get rid of your symptoms earlier.

And as I’ve always said: one packet of Emergen-C is half the daily toxic dose of vitamin C, and can increase your risk of nausea, GI distress, and gallstones.

Vitamin D:

An ample amount of vitamin D is indeed necessary to support a healthy immune system. That said, much like most of the micronutrients listed in this post, there is not much evidence to suggest that large supplements will actually improve your immune function (unless you are deficient).

If you want to learn more about vitamin D, check out this post.

Elderberry syrup:

There is so much buzz surrounding elderberry supplements and syrups these days. There isn’t really much evidence to suggest it actually improves immune function. And studies that have tested elderberry syrup and illness show there aren’t major differences between those who take it and those who don’t in terms of likelihood of getting sick.

That said, there is a bit of research to suggest it may decrease the amount of time individuals (who are already sick) experience respiratory symptoms. So if you already have a cold, it may help relieve some of your symptoms, or help them go away sooner.

Still, I wouldn’t replace a trip to the doctor’s office with elderberry syrup if you think what you have may be something serious.

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