Lisa Pfeifer – OSU Ag Safety and Health Education Coordinator
It is a busy month on the preparedness awareness front. Join in some of the events listed below to help foster readiness in your community.
Oct 1-5 Fungal Disease Awareness Week: Think Fungus!
The CDC and partners have organized this week to highlight the importance of recognizing serious fungal diseases early enough in the course of a patient’s illness to provide life-saving treatment.
Current wet weather conditions and harvest can be two environmental contributors that lead to increased fungus in the agricultural work sector. Wet conditions may lead to concerns of mold, to remediate link to CDC information by visiting https://www.cdc.gov/mold/default.htm. If harvest impacts your breathing assess the symptoms of occupational lung disease by visiting https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org, then seek advice from your medical professional.
To learn more about the CDC’s October campaign, visit https://www.cdc.gov/fungal/awareness-week.html
October 7-13 Fire Prevention Week: Look. Listen. Learn. Be aware. Fire can happen anywhere.
The National Fire Protection Association recognizes the week as a time to focus on the lessons of fire prevention. The leading messages to reduce risk to fire:
- Look for places fire can start
- Listen for the sound of the smoke alarm
- Learn two ways out of each room
For more resources visit www.firepreventionweek.org.
Oct 18 Ohio EMA Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill
Held annually on the third Thursday in October, ShakeOut is set for October 18th at 10:18AM. Ohioans are encouraged to Drop, Cover, and Hold On.
The Ohio Emergency Management Agency media release conveyed, “People may say ‘Why do we need to practice earthquake drills in Ohio?’ We practice because Ohio does experience earthquakes,” said Ohio EMA Executive Director Sima Merick. “Ohio has had four low-scale earthquakes so far this year. It is also good to know earthquake safety in the event you’ve traveled to another state or country where quakes can occur with higher magnitude and frequency.”
The Ohio EMA wants ShakeOut to get people to talk about emergency preparedness and to plan for all hazards and disasters such as earthquakes, floods, fires, tornadoes or hazmat incidents.
For more information visit the Ohio EMA media release here or to register for the event visit https://www.shakeout.org.
Flu Season is Upon Us
Get a jump on the flu by scheduling an appointment to get the flu vaccine. See what influenza vaccination coverage has looked like in past years for the state of Ohio, https://www.cdc.gov/flu/fluvaxview/reportshtml/trends/index.html.
The easiest way to protect against the flu, the Ohio Department of Health reminds, is to get a seasonal flu vaccine every year!
Some good flu prevention practices
- Get a seasonal flu vaccine
- Wash your hands
- Cover your cough
- Eat a balanced diet
- Drink plenty of water
- Exercise regularly
- Get plenty of rest
- Try not to touch your eyes, nose, or mouth
- Stay away from those who are sick when possible
- Stay home if you get sick and keep sick children home from school or day care
For more information about the flu you can visit the Ohio Department of Health’s website page covering the area at https://www.odh.ohio.gov/seasflu/seasonalinfluenza.aspx/, or the CDC’s flu section at https://www.cdc.gov/flu/index.htm.
For information about OSU Ag Safety, visit https://agsafety.osu.edu/ or contact Lisa Pfeifer, OSU Agricultural Safety & Health, at pfeifer.6@osu.edu or 614-292-9455.