The Impact of the Patras Carnival on the Course of the COVID-19 Pandemic and the Outbreak of Influenza A: A Multicenter Cross-Sectional Study

Background: We investigated the impact of the indoor mass gathering of young people during the Patras Carnival in Greece on the course of the COVID-19 pandemic and the influenza A epidemic. Materials and Methods: For influenza A, we tested 331 subjects with high fever (>38 °C), who arrived at five separate private laboratories over a two-week period after the carnival, via rapid test. One hundred and eighty-eight of them were young adults (17−35 years old), all unvaccinated against influenza A but all immunized against SARS-CoV-2, either through vaccination or previous infection. For the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, we tested 2062 subjects at two time periods, two weeks before and two weeks after the carnival, also via rapid test. Additionally, we examined 42 samples positive for influenza A and 51 samples positive for SARS-CoV-2 for the possibility of co-infection via molecular testing (i.e., RT-PCR). Results: 177/331 (53.5%) subjects tested positive for influenza A, and 109/177 (61.6%) of the positive subjects were young adults, and 93/109 (85.3%) of these subjects were tested in the first week after the carnival. Additionally, 42 samples of those subjects were molecularly tested, and 5 were found negative for influenza A but positive for SARS-CoV-2. Regarding the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, the increase in the positivity index for young adults between the pre-carnival and post-carnival periods was moderate. Conclusions: Our study indicates that the indoor mass gathering of young people during the carnival contributed to the outbreak of an influenza A epidemic and had a moderate but not statistically significant impact on the course of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, corroborating the crucial role of vaccination against the epidemic’s waves. It also showed the need for the use of high-quality rapid tests for their management.

Noise levels of amusement ride operators

One of the leading causes of noise-induced hearing loss is occupational noise exposure; however, little attention has been given to the exposure among amusement ride operators. According to the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, 600,000 ride operators are employed in the U.S. The first objective of this descriptive study was to evaluate if ride operators were exposed to noise levels over 85 dB. The second objective was to classify the ride features that led to the highest noise levels. 136 rides were measured at 17 total amusement parks, county fairs, and festivals in southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois during summer 2015. A sound level meter recorded noise measurements as close in proximity to the ride operator as possible. Each ride was measured for two or three complete ride cycles, which included loading and operating the ride. The sound level meter was programmed to measure noise as recommended by the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists and with no threshold. 18% of rides measured had projected noise levels greater than American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists recommendation of 85 dB. A repeated measures model was used to analyze the complete ride cycle decibel levels. The model found that traveling carnival rides had significantly higher levels compared to the stationary amusement park rides (p < 0.001), the rides operated near midway music had significantly higher levels than those without midway music (p < 0.001), and the type of ride was also significant. Tukey-Kramer multiple comparison test was used to determine differences in type of ride. According to the data, 18% of the amusement ride operators would be at risk for noise induced hearing loss and would require a hearing conservation program if the 8-hr time weighted averages were to follow the same trends as the complete ride cycle levels.

Politics of Ebola and the critical role of global health diplomacy for the CARICOM

The 2014 Ebola epidemic was the largest in history, affecting Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Nigeria, and Mali in West Africa. The International Health Regulations are legally binding in 194 countries including all the member states of WHO "to prevent, protect against, control, and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease." Since the Caribbean Community region heavily depends on tourism, a single case of the disease anywhere in the region could have serious negative consequences for the rest of the region's tourism industry. Global health diplomacy brings together the disciplines of public health, international affairs, management, law, and economics and focuses on negotiations that shape and manage the global policy environment for health. The regional institutes such as Caribbean Public Health Agency should play a more proactive and pivotal role in the creation of regional response teams in all the island nations collaborating with the departments of public health and epidemiology at the regional campuses of The University of the West Indies. The role of global health diplomacy and its practice should be encouraged to reach a consensus among the stakeholders considering the threat to the health security in the region. There is a need for the cadre of global health diplomats who has a critical understanding of health and also the practice of diplomacy since such serious health issues have implications at the global level in this globalized world.