Valley Fever Is a Growing Fungal Threat to Outdoor Workers • Hacker News Board

Re: Valley Fever Is a Growing Fungal Threat to Outdoor Workers

#31

Post by dingnuts » Sun, Sep 24, 2023, 7:07 PM UTC

chaostheory wrote: post #5

Masking with n95 or higher rated masks (95% efficacy or higher) is really important these days if you want to avoid COVID, mitigate air pollution from near constant wildfires, and now this. However, I understand that not everyone can afford to keep buying good masks, or have a nice enough climate to be able to wear one outdoors. if the weather is too warm & humid, you’ll likely die from heat exhaustion instead.

Is there any evidence of a sizeable effect from wearing masks outdoors, especially considering the risk of transmission outdoors is so much lower than indoors[0]? I thought this practice was debunked early in the pandemic. Even indoors, the effect is small at best[1], but outdoors the volume of air and other factors contribute to the near-impossibility of effectively transmitting any serious kind of live viral load.

0 https://academic.oup.com/jid/article/223/4/550/6009483 1 https://www.cochrane.org/CD006207/ARI_do-physical-measures-s...

Re: Valley Fever Is a Growing Fungal Threat to Outdoor Workers

#32

Post by DoreenMichele » Sun, Sep 24, 2023, 8:07 PM UTC

bragr wrote: post #18

I grew up in Kern county where valley fever is prevalent and it is very serious. I've known many people that completely lost their summers from being so ill for months. The people who get chronic valley fever are the worst, just waisting away. They look like cancer/chemo patients. Edit: the article neglected to mention the terrifying aspect that the infection can spread to your brain causing fungal meningitis

Fungal infections are generally nasty, ugly beasties.*

* "It's an industry term." -- Some movie

Re: Valley Fever Is a Growing Fungal Threat to Outdoor Workers

#33

Post by chaostheory » Mon, Sep 25, 2023, 12:40 AM UTC

dingnuts wrote: post #31

chaostheory wrote: post #5

Masking with n95 or higher rated masks (95% efficacy or higher) is really important these days if you want to avoid COVID, mitigate air pollution from near constant wildfires, and now this. However, I understand that not everyone can afford to keep buying good masks, or have a nice enough climate to be able to wear one outdoors. if the weather is too warm & humid, you’ll likely die from heat exhaustion instead.

Is there any evidence of a sizeable effect from wearing masks outdoors, especially considering the risk of transmission outdoors is so much lower than indoors[0]? I thought this practice was debunked early in the pandemic. Even indoors, the effect is small at best[1], but outdoors the volume of air and other factors contribute to the near-impossibility of effectively transmitting any serious kind of live viral load.…

If you’re referring to only COVID, you’re right. Wearing a mask outdoors is pointless. It only makes sense indoors, but I was also referring to air pollution from wildfires and Valley fever where both are still dangerous outdoors

Re: Valley Fever Is a Growing Fungal Threat to Outdoor Workers

#34

Post by throwaway290 » Mon, Sep 25, 2023, 1:41 AM UTC

dingnuts wrote: post #31

chaostheory wrote: post #5

Masking with n95 or higher rated masks (95% efficacy or higher) is really important these days if you want to avoid COVID, mitigate air pollution from near constant wildfires, and now this. However, I understand that not everyone can afford to keep buying good masks, or have a nice enough climate to be able to wear one outdoors. if the weather is too warm & humid, you’ll likely die from heat exhaustion instead.

Is there any evidence of a sizeable effect from wearing masks outdoors, especially considering the risk of transmission outdoors is so much lower than indoors[0]? I thought this practice was debunked early in the pandemic. Even indoors, the effect is small at best[1], but outdoors the volume of air and other factors contribute to the near-impossibility of effectively transmitting any serious kind of live viral load.…

Valley fever fungus survives outdoors, so the mask can help. COVID does not, so the mask is good indoors or in crowds.