Health authorities also warn RSV, flu and whooping cough cases on the rise around Australia
A measles alert has been issued for Sydney as airborne illnesses surge across Australia. The National Notifiable Diseases Surveillance System report warns that flu levels in Australia are currently higher than expected, with almost double the cases compared to last year. Pertussis (whooping cough) and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases are also on the rise, with experts warning of more infections as winter approaches. Meanwhile, COVID-19 outbreaks in aged care homes continue. Australian health department data shows there are currently outbreaks in 194 aged care homes, with 22 new outbreaks, 1,338 cases and 15 deaths last week. In the midst of these challenges, experts like QUT (Queensland University of Technology)‘s D/Prof. Lidia Morawska who is the Director of Thrive IAQ, are calling for mandatory indoor air quality standards to protect against pollution and disease. According to her latest research, most most counties do not have any legislated standards to monitor indoor air quality, and that affordable, robust CO2 sensors are readily available. Building codes must be reviewed, to address these concerns about airborne disease transmission… it’s high time for authorities to take action and ensure clean air for all.
Read more about Thrive IAQ‘s critical work here: https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.adl0677
Morawska, L., Allen, J., Bahnfleth, W., Bennett, B., Bluyssen, P. M., Boerstra, A., Buonanno, G., Cao, J., Dancer, S. J., Floto, A., Franchimon, F., Greenhalgh, T., Haworth, C., Hogeling, J., Isaxon, C., Jimenez, J. L., Kennedy, A., Kumar, P., Kurnitski, J., . . . Yao, M. (2024). Mandating indoor air quality for public buildings. Science, 383(6690), 1418-1420. https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.adl0677
The paper is also available for download from QUT ePrints (an open-access repository, with a copy of the authors’ accepted manuscript): https://eprints.qut.edu.au/247686/
#ThriveIAQ #QUT #QUTScience #QUTEngineering #QUTArchitecture #IAQ #PublicHealth #COVID19
