In the Heart of the Storm: Surviving Hurricanes and Fall Respiratory Outbreaks

They're back! Infectious Diseases Clinicians and show hosts Drs. Vivian Vega and Jackie Sherbuk reflect on the last few weeks since Episode 4. In the face of devastating storm surge from Hurricane Helene, and severe wind and flooding from Hurricane Milton, the Tampa Bay Area and its medical centers experienced a back to back punch, separated by only two weeks. This left some hospitals flooded, beaches seriously eroded, streets filled with debris, power outages lasting as much as 5-7 days, and countless people with immersed or damaged homes. Vivian and Jackie open the show by discussing how their lives were affected by evacuation orders, "hurricane call," and the stress of--in the words of a local weatherman--"stalking the turtle." That is, stressfully following daily hurricane forecasts without knowing if its slowly changing track would take it over the Tampa Bay Area. Now that the storms have passed, the recovery will likely take weeks to months. And diseases directly related to storm waters and flooding, such as Vibrio vulnificus and mosquito-borne illnesses, will likely be on the rise.

Next, as Florida begins to experience cooler weather in the wake of the storms, the duo go on to discuss the coming respiratory virus season. First, acknowledging the renewed thread of COVID-19, Vivian reviews the "alphabet soup" of influenza virus strains, how to decipher the H's and N's of flu season, and what is meant by "antigenic shift" and "angenic drift."

For some historical context, the Drs. Vega and Sherbuk review the 1918 outbreak of the "Spanish Flu" in Philadelphia related to a War Bonds parade. And they then move on to discuss the impact of RSV in both babies and adults during the fall respiratory virus season. Fortunately, an RSV vaccine is available. Also covered are non-pharmacologic interventions to avoid the spread of respiratory infections, such as mask wearing, handwashing, and isolating yourself if you are sick. Lastly, the show closes with some recent ID news about Pertussis (Whooping cough), continuing Listeria outbreaks from meat products, and the McDonalds Quarter Pounder outbreak related to slivered onions.

Dr. Vega would like to give a special thank you to her good friend Mr Job Meiller for his musical contributions for our podcast.

Thanks also to Dr. Ana Velez, our artistic contributor, for her painting used in our episode thumbnail.