Entering spring and summer, as we welcome small holidays such as Qingming Festival, May Day, and Dragon Boat Festival, how can we prevent infectious diseases? How to deal with tick bites? On March 27th, the National Bureau of Disease Control and Prevention held a press conference on "Key Infectious Disease Prevention and Control and Health Tips for Spring and Summer", where experts provided detailed answers to hot issues. What should be noted for outdoor activities? Chang Zhaorui, a researcher at the Infectious Disease Management Office of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention: With the increase of public outdoor activities, travel, and family reunions, while getting close to nature and socializing, it is necessary to prepare for the prevention of infectious diseases. When engaging in outdoor activities, one should avoid direct contact with animals, maintain a safe distance from them, avoid direct contact, do not touch or feed them, and prevent the spread of pathogens and accidental scratching and biting. If accidentally bitten, immediately rinse the wound with soapy water continuously for 15 minutes, seek medical attention promptly, and take necessary measures such as rabies vaccination according to the situation. The second is to establish a dual barrier of deworming and protection. In areas where mosquitoes, ticks, and other insect vectors are active, physical and chemical protection measures can be taken. Specific measures include wearing light colored long sleeved clothes and applying mosquito repellent containing mosquito repellent every 4 hours; When camping, a combination of mosquito nets and mosquito repellent lamps can be used for protection. Thirdly, it is necessary to bring essential supplies. It is recommended to carry daily necessities such as disinfectant wipes and band aids with you; When engaging in hiking, mountaineering and other activities, first aid items such as hemostatic bandages can be added; Chronic patients should also carry their daily medication to ensure their health and safety during outdoor activities. During travel reunions, it is important to monitor health and pay attention to the dynamics of the epidemic. Pay close attention to the epidemic situation of infectious diseases in the destination and the prevention and control information prompts issued by relevant departments such as disease control before traveling, make corresponding preparations in advance, and arrange travel reasonably. The second is to take necessary precautions and implement relevant protective measures, such as wearing masks scientifically, washing hands frequently, avoiding raw seafood, preventing mosquito bites, and not coming into contact with infected animals and products. It is also important to pay attention to food and water hygiene during travel and gatherings, and not to come into contact with or cook dead poultry and animals. Thirdly, do a good job in health monitoring. During the journey, after returning, and after dining together, it is important to pay attention to the health status of oneself and family members. If symptoms such as fever, cough, diarrhea, etc. occur, seek medical attention promptly and proactively inform about travel history and dining activities. How to handle tick bites correctly? Liu Qiyong, Chief Expert of Vector Biology at the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention: Ticks, also known as wall lice, tick ticks, and grass crawlers, usually live in grasslands, shrubs, or densely wooded areas, or parasitize on the surfaces of rodents, livestock, and other animals. They are generally reddish brown or grayish brown, oval in shape, flat in the back and abdomen, and their volume is only sesame to rice grains when they do not suck blood. After sucking blood, ticks are like soybean grains or even larger. Every spring, ticks enter their peak activity and spread pathogens such as viruses, bacteria, parasites, etc. through biting and sucking blood, causing diseases in humans and animals and posing great harm to human health and animal husbandry. The symptoms of being bitten by ticks often vary from person to person and usually include the following situations: first, local reactions. The bite site may experience redness, itching, or mild pain, similar to mosquito bites, but the duration may be longer. The second is allergic reactions. Some people are allergic to proteins in tick saliva and may develop rashes, blisters, and even systemic urticaria. Thirdly, there are symptoms of infection. If ticks carry pathogens, they may cause systemic symptoms such as fever, headache, muscle soreness, and fatigue. After being bitten by a tick, it is important to handle it properly: first, remove the tick as soon as possible. Ticks will bury their heads in the skin when sucking blood. Use tweezers or specialized tick removal tools to tightly clamp the tick's head against the skin and slowly remove it vertically upwards. The tick's head has a hook, and forcibly removing it will only become tighter. Therefore, do not rotate or pull it forcefully to prevent the tick's mouthparts from breaking and remaining in the skin. When circumstances permit, it is best to seek professional help from a doctor. The second is disinfection treatment, using alcohol or iodine to clean the bite site and avoid infection. The third is health observation. Over the next few weeks, closely monitor for any fever, rash, or other abnormal symptoms. If there is any discomfort, seek medical attention promptly and be sure to inform the doctor that you have been bitten by a tick in the past for easy diagnosis. How to do well in personal protection against pestis? Chang Zhaorui: pestis is a severe infectious disease caused by Yersinia pestis, which is characterized by acute onset, strong infectivity and high mortality. It is mainly transmitted by vectors, direct contact and droplets. Pestis is mainly prevalent among rodents. Rats and marmots are its important hosts. Marmots are often called marmots. Don't worry too much. In recent years, with the improvement of China's comprehensive capacity of public health, pestis has also become a preventable, controllable and curable disease. In China, the number of reported cases of human pestis each year is controlled at the single digit level, and effective self-protection can prevent pestis infection. Personal protection against pestis should start from the following aspects: first, avoid contacting wild animals in the epidemic focus. When traveling, especially to the grasslands, it is important to avoid contact with wild animals. Do not play with or feed rodents, marmots, or other animals, do not sit or lie around the entrances of rodents or marmots, and do not come into contact with dead wild animals. The second is to take measures to prevent flea bites. Fleas are the vectors of pestis. When entering the epidemic focus, you should do a good job of personal protection, such as wearing long sleeves and trousers, minimizing skin exposure, and preventing fleas from getting into and biting. Thirdly, we must adhere to the principles of "three reports" and "three don'ts". The 'three reports' refer to timely reporting of dead mice and marmots; Report patients suspected of pestis; Report patients with unexplained high fever and sudden death. The meaning of "three no's" is not to hunt or eat epidemic source animals without authorization, and not to carry epidemic source animals and products out of the epidemic area without authorization. The fourth is to strengthen self health monitoring. After returning from playing in epidemic prone areas such as grasslands, it is necessary to conduct continuous self health monitoring for one week. If there are abnormal symptoms such as fever, lymph node enlargement, pain, cough, hemoptysis, etc., seek medical attention in a timely manner and inform the doctor of the travel history to the epidemic prone area. How can families prevent foodborne illnesses? Bai Li, director and researcher of the Microbiology Department of the National Food Safety Risk Assessment Center: The occurrence of foodborne diseases has obvious seasonal characteristics. With the rising temperature in spring, the incidence rate of some foodborne diseases has increased. The monitoring data shows that the foodborne diseases caused by toxic plants, poisonous mushrooms and microorganisms have increased significantly since March each year. The risks of families mainly come from two aspects: one is the insecurity of raw materials. The most common risk factor in spring is picking and consuming poisonous wild vegetables. Some poisonous wild vegetables look very similar to our usual dishes in appearance, such as poison celery and water celery, hemlock and honeysuckle. They look very similar and are difficult for ordinary people to distinguish. Once ingested, they can easily cause poisoning. Some wild vegetables contain trace amounts of toxins, which can also cause poisoning if cooked improperly or consumed in large quantities at once. In spring and summer, there is another situation that may have been reported to some extent, which is that poisonous mushrooms can cause poisoning and even death. The best preventive measure against the above risks is not to pick, purchase, or consume wild vegetables and mushrooms that we do not know or are unfamiliar with. Another risk is improper cooking operations. The most common and easily overlooked issue when cooking at home is foodborne diseases caused by microbial cross contamination. Fresh products such as raw meat and aquatic products may carry different types of pathogenic bacteria, especially after entering summer. With the rise of temperature, bacteria are prone to breed in the food and rapidly multiply in a short period of time. If the knife cutting board is mixed with raw and cooked food, and the refrigerator is mixed with raw and cooked food, the risk of contamination of ready to eat foods such as raw vegetables, fruits, and cooked food that do not require further heating and can be consumed directly increases. To prevent such foodborne diseases, as long as we adhere to the five key points of food safety, which are keeping clean, separating raw and cooked foods, cooking thoroughly, maintaining a safe temperature, and using safe water and ingredients, we will not allow these pathogenic bacteria to take advantage. It is reminded that in case of symptoms of food poisoning, such as nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea, etc., it is necessary to immediately stop consuming suspicious foods and seek medical treatment at the hospital as soon as possible. It is not recommended to blindly self medicate during diarrhea. Chang Zhaorui: Diarrhea is a common disease, and the causes of diarrhea are complex and diverse, including infectious factors such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, as well as non infectious factors such as food poisoning, food allergies, and intestinal dysfunction. If self medication is taken, it may mask the condition and delay treatment. Therefore, it is not recommended for the public to blindly self medicate. For young adults with less frequent diarrhea, good mental state, and no symptoms such as fever, dizziness, fatigue, thirst, palpitations, etc., it is recommended to have a light diet, take oral rehydration salts to prevent dehydration, observe the condition, and seek medical attention if necessary. For special populations such as children, pregnant women, and the elderly, it is recommended to seek medical attention first and follow medical advice when experiencing diarrhea. When the following situations occur, one is the worsening of fever and diarrhea, such as an increase in the frequency of diarrhea; Secondly, there may be bloody or purulent stool, black or tar like stool, or even bloody stool; Thirdly, dehydration symptoms may occur, such as severe thirst, dry mouth, dry skin, decreased skin elasticity, reduced urine output or even no urine, as well as dizziness and fatigue. Infants may experience sunken fontanelle and no tears when crying; Fourth, accompanied by severe abdominal pain, frequent vomiting, etc., timely medical attention should be sought to avoid delaying the condition. Don't store food too full in the refrigerator. Bai Li: If we operate the refrigerator improperly, it may accelerate the spoilage of food, not only wasting food, but also causing food safety issues. One issue is improper temperature control. If the refrigerator is too full in daily life, frequently opens and closes the door, or if the refrigerator door is not tightly closed or temperature control is not paid attention to, the temperature of the refrigerator will fluctuate and rise, leading to slow growth of microorganisms. The correct way is to store food in the refrigerator not too full and avoid overloading. Ensure that the temperature in the refrigeration compartment is controlled at around 4 ℃ and the temperature in the freezer compartment is controlled below -18 ℃. The second issue is the mixing of raw and cooked food. Fresh foods such as raw meat and seafood may carry different pathogenic bacteria. If they are not packaged, divided, or stored in layers, cross contamination may occur, which may contaminate ready to eat foods such as raw vegetables, fruits, and cooked meat. The correct way is to place the food in the refrigerated compartment in layers. Place ready to eat food on the upper layer, such as cut fruits, and store them with cling film or plastic boxes to avoid cross contamination; Place fresh foods such as raw meat and aquatic products in the lower layer, and wrap them in freshness boxes or bags to prevent liquid leakage; If not consumed in a short period of time, try to store it in the freezer as much as possible. Thirdly, leftover food has not been thoroughly heated. Leftover food is a common phenomenon in households. First of all, it is important to remind everyone that whether it is summer or winter, leftover food must be placed in the refrigerator in a timely manner. However, under refrigeration, some pathogenic bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes will grow slowly. If leftover food is not thoroughly heated before consumption, it may lead to the occurrence of foodborne diseases. The correct way is to consume leftover food, including cut fruits and unpacked cooked food, as soon as possible and not leave it in the refrigerator for too long; In addition, leftovers must be thoroughly heated before consumption, especially old ones