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Respiratory Viruses & Radon Risks · Healthier Together: Larimer County's Public Health Podcast

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Welcome to Healthier Together, Larimer County's
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public health podcast, where we come together
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for healthier lives, connected communities, and
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real conversations. From your local public health
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team, I'm your host, Tom. And I'm Joanna. This
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is the first minisode of our new podcast, Healthier
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Together, where we'll provide a brief update
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on local public health news. So, Tom, what's
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up in public health? Well, first up, we have
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our communicable disease epidemiologist, Abi
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Collingwood, here to give us an update on respiratory
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viruses in our community. Abby, thank you so
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much for joining us. Thank you for having me.
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So, what are respiratory viruses, and why is
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there a respiratory virus season? Yeah, so a
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respiratory virus is just any virus that causes
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an infection of your respiratory tract. the lungs,
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your throat, the symptoms of respiratory viruses.
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You're going to have your cough, your fevers,
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your runny noses, sore throats. Here in the county,
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we monitor three respiratory viruses, COVID,
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influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus, or
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RSV, because these can cause really severe infections
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and hospitalizations. But there are a lot of
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other respiratory viruses. So the common cold
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is a respiratory virus that's often caused by...
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rhinovirus and adenoviruses, notably with respiratory
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viruses. They are viruses, not bacteria, so antibiotics
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will not work on these infections. And I really
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like your question about why is there a respiratory
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season. So when we talk about that, we're really
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thinking in the northern hemisphere about the
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months between October and April. And there's
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a couple of reasons why we see respiratory viruses
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really spike in this time frame. So one is we
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have a lot more people indoors with less fresh
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air. Kids are back in school, just swapping microbes
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back and forth, bringing it home to their families.
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We have our holidays where lots of people are
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getting together. And then just colder weather,
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people are inside more as opposed to being outside
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in the fresh air. And then viruses really like
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winter weather. So they survive better outside
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the body in lower humidity, and they actually
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transmit better in lower temperatures. It's producing
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a better aerosol, so the virus can linger longer
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in the air and have more time to transmit to
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someone else. And then your immune system does
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not like the winter weather. So with less humidity,
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in Colorado, you get that really dry nose and
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dry throat. you're making and clearing a lot
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less mucus, which is our first line of defense
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against these viruses. So your throat's super
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dry, you don't have a good defense, and the viruses
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can just move on in. What does the respiratory
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virus data look like right now in Larimer County?
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Yeah, so I'm sure a lot of residents have been
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hearing about the flu. I feel like we all have
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had the flu or know someone who has had the flu.
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And you're right, it is a really severe season
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here in Larimer. We've seen more hospitalizations
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in one week than in any other week in the previous
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seasons. We've had more emergency department
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visits for flu than we did last season. And that's
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really saying something because last season was
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a really high season as well. And I think when
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people think about flu hospitalizations, they're
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thinking about our older population. It has hit
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them really bad, but we've also been seeing this
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in kids. So we've had about 20 kids hospitalized
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in our county. Thankfully, we are maybe starting
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to come down from our peak of flu. We've seen
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a decrease in cases lately, but we have had seasons
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where we've had more than one peak. So even though
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we're coming down, we're not out of the woods
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yet. Some good news, though, and not just the
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bearer of bad news, is our COVID remains low.
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We are seeing some outbreaks in long -term care
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facilities, but we haven't seen as many hospitalizations
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as we had in previous seasons. And then with
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RSV, we are starting to see this pick up. It
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is a lot later than it has been in previous seasons.
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We're currently at a moderate level, and this
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is mainly in our zero to four -year -olds. RSV
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is most severe in that population. Gotcha. So
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it sounds like this is much kind of in line with
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the trend of things that are getting worse each
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season. So it sounds like it's in comparison
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to last season, it is worse. Yeah. So that's
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an interesting thing that you say and that, you
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know, the seasons are getting worse. The CDC
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has actually never seen back to back severe seasons.
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since they started looking at that in 2003. So
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the fact that we had a bad season last year,
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a lot of people were thinking it would be a less
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bad season this year. But since we do have a
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new strain of the flu, H3N2 subclade K, we might
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be seeing our first back -to -back severe season.
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Wow. Abby, why is this a public health concern?
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Everyone has gotten a cold during the winter
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and recovers. It sucks for a week, but you get
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better. Why is this something that the health
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department collects data on and shares information
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about? Yeah, that's a really great question.
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So there's a lot of reasons why. First, flu,
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COVID, RSV, these viruses are different from
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the common cold. So they can produce more severe
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infections, which is why we track these ones
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and we don't track the colds. And then second,
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while these viruses may be mild in some people,
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you know, I've had COVID and it just meant I
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had to lay on my couch and watch Gilmore Girls
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all week. Some people, it can be really severe
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for them. And so influenza and COVID can cause
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hospitalizations and death, especially in our
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older population. But as I mentioned, we've been
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seeing kids get hospitalized with these conditions.
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And then RSV is actually the leading cause of
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hospitalization for infants in the United States.
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So these are really severe infections for some
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people. So that's why it's important that if
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you are sick with these viruses, even if it's
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mild, that you stay home so you're not infecting
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somebody who could have a more severe reaction.
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And then beyond the individual level of people
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getting sick and getting hospitalized, it's a
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really big public health concern because we are
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trying not to overwhelm our hospital systems.
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We've seen this in the past during respiratory
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season when so many people get COVID, influenza,
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RSV. that our hospitals actually run out of beds
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for patients and have had to turn people away
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who are coming in for things like elective surgeries.
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So it's important that we keep our hospitalizations
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down so our hospitals can continue to provide
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the best care possible. And then finally, I know
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I keep talking a lot about severe infections,
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hospitalizations, deaths, but I don't want to
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discredit how disruptive a mild case can be.
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You know, even if you're not hospitalized, that
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can really impact your life. You know, you could
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be missing school and missing work. missing parties
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with friends. We really want to prevent these
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illnesses so everyone can keep living their healthiest
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and fullest life. So where is this data coming
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from and can Larimer County residents access
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it? Yeah, so the data comes from a lot of different
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sources. We try to monitor a variety of sources
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to paint the most comprehensive picture of respiratory
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viruses in our county. So we look at hospitalizations,
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emergency department visits, outpatient visits
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that are reported to us by our health care partners.
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And then we're able to monitor outbreaks that
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are reported by our schools and our long -term
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care facilities. And then we have compiled all
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of this into a one -stop shop for our Larimer
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County residents at our respiratory virus dashboard.
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What can people do to keep themselves and others
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healthy this season? Yeah, so the first tip I
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would pass on is staying up to date on your vaccines.
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So we have a seasonal flu vaccine and a seasonal
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COVID vaccine. And then really excitingly, we
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have some RSV protection. So older adults could
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be eligible to receive a lifetime dose against
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RSV. And then our infants can now be protected
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in two ways. So first, pregnant people can get
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vaccinated, and this can pass on antibodies to
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their newborns. And then babies can get monoclonal
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antibodies against RSV. This is super exciting.
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It's probably one of the reasons we're seeing
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a lower RSV season this year is because we've
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had such good uptake of that protection. And
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then outside of vaccines, just general respiratory
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etiquette. So practicing good hand hygiene, washing
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your hands frequently, staying home when you're
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sick so you're not passing this on to others,
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covering your coughs and your sneezes. And then
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if you're hosting people, see if you can open
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some windows to let some fresh air in and really
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increase your ventilation there. And then if
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you are at risk for severe disease, you could
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consider masking when you go out and then avoiding
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large crowds. Abi, thank you so much again for
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joining us. We really appreciate you taking the
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time. All right. Thank you. This week, we also
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have our medical officer, Dr. Paul Mayer. Dr.
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Mayer, thanks so much for joining us. Glad to
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be here. As we've heard flu activity is currently
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very high in Larimer County. If you haven't gotten
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your flu shot yet is it too late? No by no means.
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If you have not gotten your flu shot yet we strongly
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encourage you to do so. It takes about two weeks
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to get full immunity from your flu vaccine but
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the immunity does start right after you get the
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shot. We've also gotten some questions about
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this year's flu vaccine not being a good match
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for the dominant strain of flu that's spreading
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in Larimer County. Is it still worth getting
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this year's flu shot? Yes, absolutely. It is
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accurate to say that this new subclade that is
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dominant, subclade K, is less protected by the
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flu shot as far as getting disease. However,
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we have some excellent data to support that your
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likelihood of getting severe disease is greatly
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reduced by this year's flu shot. And then who
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is most at risk for severe illness and hospitalization
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from the flu? The risk groups are similar to
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other diseases, so it's going to be young children,
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the elderly, and anybody with any type of chronic
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disease, really, whether it's heart, lung, kidney.
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You can learn more about respiratory viruses
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and find the Larimer County Respiratory Virus
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Data Dashboard at larimer .gov slash stay healthy.
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Well, we are lucky to be joined by our environmental
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health planner, Lea Schneider, here to talk about
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radon. Lea, thank you for joining us. Of course.
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Thanks for inviting me. First, can you explain
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what radon is and why we're talking about it
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today? Yeah. Radon is a colorless, odorless gas
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that is radioactive, and it comes from the soil.
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It enters our homes through cracks in the foundations,
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where pipes enter your home, sump pumps, drains,
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as well as your crawl space. Prolonged exposure
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to these elevated levels of radon can cause serious
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health effects, including lung cancer. And a
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lot of people don't realize that radon is actually
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the leading cause of lung cancer in non -smokers.
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Is radon common in Larimer County? Radon is very
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common. Over 50% of our homes actually have
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levels detected above the EPA's action level
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for picocuries per liter. That's like 90,000
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homes in Larimer County. That seems like a lot.
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That's why Radon Awareness Month is so important
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to us. Through the month of January, our department
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works to raise awareness of the health risks
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associated with exposure to elevated radon levels,
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as well as provide some resources for testing
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and then mitigation resources for taking care
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of those elevated radon levels in your home.
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Because you can't see or smell it, you have to
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actually test. Test kits are simple to use. You
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just place it on a steady surface in the lowest
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level of your home, and this could be either
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the basement, if you actually occupy the basement
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for an office or a bedroom, or if you don't have
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a basement, the first level of your home. And
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the test kit is activated by opening the package
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and exposing it to the indoor air for a certain
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amount of time. And then that time is outlined
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in the instructions that come with the kit. And
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then after the few days the test is complete,
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you'll package it up and it's sent off to a lab,
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and the lab will send you the results to determine
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how much radon. they've detected in your home.
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Where can you get a radon test kit? Larimer County
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residents have a few options this January. You
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can order your free test kits online. We have
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them available at larimer .gov forward slash
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radon. Our health departments in Fort Collins
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and Loveland, as well as our partners in Estes
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Park at their town hall, and then libraries in
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Redfeather and Berthoud will all have free test
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kits available as supplies last. If these kits
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run out, you can also purchase online with vendors
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and retail stores. So let's say I get a test
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kit, I open it up, I activate it, I leave it
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in my basement for up to a week, send it off,
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I get the results back, and the results say that
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I have elevated levels of radon. What can I actually
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do? The most effective way to actually reduce
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radon in the home is to install a radon mitigation
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system. Radon mitigation systems remove the radon
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gas from the soil around your foundation and
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then safely release it out into the outside air
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around you. your home. And then... Colorado Department
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of Health and Environment maintains a list of
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these certified professionals that can actually
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install these radon mitigation systems. We strongly
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recommend that people stick with the professionals.
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How much do you think that should cost? Depends
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on the design of the home, the age of the home,
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things like that. But right now, between $1,000
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to $3,000, which is very steep. So if people
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are looking for a bit of assistance, Colorado
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Department of Public Health and Environment offers
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the Low Income Radon Mitigation Assistance Program.
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This is for Colorado residents to reduce radon
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in their home. have to be a homeowner and meet
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specific income limits, but the program would
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cover up to 100 % of the cost of the mitigation
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system installation. That's great. Thank you
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so much, Leah, for joining us. Dr. Mayer, how
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would you recommend health care providers in
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Larimer County address the risk of radon with
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their patients? I think the most accurate thing
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to say is that the entire state of Colorado is
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high risk for radon. If you pull up the map,
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of radon risk for our state. Almost every county
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is in red, meaning the highest risk. There's
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a couple of counties in the south part of the
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state that are orange, and even there at increased
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risk. So I really think the most accurate thing
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to tell your patients is we're all at risk, and
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everybody needs to follow the testing guidelines.
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What risk factors should providers consider when
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talking about radon? I think the main time is
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to think about testing or when you purchase a
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new home. And I think it's important for us all
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to realize a home is where we live. It doesn't
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have to be a house. It can be an apartment, any
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other dwelling where we live. It's important
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to test when you've newly changed your residence.
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Where can providers go to find more information
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about radon? CDPHE has an excellent site if you
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Google about radon. CDC also has some excellent
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information. Awesome. Thanks so much, Dr. Mayer.
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You're welcome. We celebrate Radon Action Month
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throughout the month of January, but you can
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get a free radon test kit any time of year through
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the Colorado Department of Public Health and
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Environment or purchase a test kit online or
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at retail stores. To learn more about radon and
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how to get your free test kit, visit larimer
14:30
.gov slash radon. Thanks for listening, Larimer
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County. Until next week, stay well, stay connected,
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and remember, we really are healthier together.