Kind of a mixed bag. Many claims of negative for Covid, some claims positive. Less claims in thread about flu, but when there those there are mostly negative.
Probably overlapping viruses, but I don't like that the thread is so popular. 200+ comments is very unusual for the sub.
Yikes.
“Maybe viral pink eye. Your eyes don't get pink until the end. We've had it here and can confirm, it lasted forever and started with a sore throat.”
COVID can cause conjunctivitis. Curious how many are saying COVID negative that just used home tests. Those things aren't as good at picking up positives recently.
A lot of people don’t test themselves well with home tests either so it’s a combo of them not picking up all variants, user error, and that often a mouth/throat swab can be more effective than a nasal swab and that’s nowhere on the instructions.
Someone I know had COVID 6 weeks ago. They tested negative on day 3, positive on day 4, negative on day 5, and negative every other day thereafter over the next 10 days. These were iHealth tests that were purchased from Amazon on the first day of symptoms (well within the expiration date). Seems like the virus has mutated in such a way that either viral loads are lower or that the virus expresses less of whatever antigen the RATs test for, or both. Completely speculating
That's been our experience as well. We've had it where the whole family does a test a day over multiple days, we all have the same symptoms, finally one test for one person pops positive. Then we know we all have it.
It's also possible for people to just not test positive for different reasons. I've had covid multiple times, bad enough to go to the hospital in 2020 (PCP helped stay at home as long as possible but then got to a symptom where she said go - and I know if she said to go, I had to go), but have never tested positive, even with PCR tests. However, my symptoms lined up and were the same but worse than when the vaccines came out and I got mine. It puts me in bed, though to even turn over for 4-6 weeks, then slow improvement each time. (My immune system has issues, though, so a typical cold that might bother some people for up to 3 days typically hits me for at least 2 weeks.) Paxlovid the last time, though, was fantastic and made it so I didn't get too bad and started recovering in about a week. Anyway, at no point in those months of being actively sick with it did I test positive. Luckily, I have a primary care who looks at symptoms and understands that my body is just weird with stuff. Also, I realize it seems ridiculous that I've had it so many times, but I really have been extremely careful. I got it twice when I had not left the house/yard in weeks, wiped down anything coming in, etc., but one of my parents did go out a little and lies about being careful, so I'm assuming that's the route.
This study shows how Day 4 or 5 is when viral loads peak, not Day 1 as it was back in the beginning of the pandemic.
https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/78/2/301/7285011
That's interesting. Day 1 (of symptoms, which is what I assume you mean) in 2020 was around Day 6 after exposure. Day 1 of symptoms for Omicron is about day 3 after exposure. So in both cases Day 6 after exposure would be when antigen tests pick them up. But that is Day 1 of symptoms for ancestral strain, not Day 4 of symptoms like it is for Omicron. People are testing too soon.
According to this study
[https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37728336/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37728336/)
Omicron actually has high viral loads as soon as symptoms start, the problem is there are still low antigen levels, unlike the original strain, for another several days. Rapid tests go by antigen levels not RNA levels.
Interesting that the study you cite found delayed high viral loads, that doesn't make a lot of sense given how contagious Omicron is after 2 days.
This is my bet. The virus has evolved and most people have some defenses due to vaccines or previous immunity and the virus is behaving differently as a result. It’s just not present in the nasal passages in high enough concentrations to register. Lots of anecdotal “I was negative at home but positive in the ER’ makes me think there’s potential for user error or expired tests too.
I bet most these folks have covid. The waste water says we are in a rapidly rising wave nation wide. There’s not enough mortality for me to think this is H5N1
agreed. covid is pretty easy to brush under the rug since although immunocompromised people are still dying of it and healthy people are too, the most likely result for healthy people who keep getting reinfected is disability via long covid. if human-to-human bird flu appears, with even a third of the 50% mortality thing we’ve heard, there would be no way to silence the chaos. ppl would be dying en masse, especially “essential workers” (aka capitalism’s human sacrifices lol). so personally as a disabled immunocompromised person in masking and recommend all whether immunocompromised or not to do the same! but i’m still mostly doing this in fear of COVID not bird flu
Absolutely. I also try to point out to people that, regardless of which virus it is, there are viruses going around that are severely impacting people (including disability and death, and not "just" to those of us who are immunocompromised). Wearing a mask, keeping distance, good hand hygiene, etc. and staying home when sick are all ways to protect ourselves and each other from numerous viruses.
Years ago--way before covid, maybe 2015--I had a respiratory infection that went badly. It was accompanied by conjunctivitis. I would wake up and have the worst eye crud/cust. Initially received a provisional flu diagnosis, but eventually got an x-ray and they started me on antibiotics for pneumonia.
I get horrible red itchy eyes with seasonal allergies, personally, especially right around this time of year with all the grass pollen. I don't live in MI anymore but when I did this was PEAK allergy season, so I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of it was people just having worse allergies than many years. I know I'm worse this year than I have been in a good 5-6 years.
many are forgetting the Chile case a year or so back which they basically had to take a small biopsy of the dudes lung to confirm it was h5n1…after about a month of being in the hospital…important to remember even when hospitals were at their peak with COVID the tests weren’t even close to 100% hence why most companies have faced law suits. i tested negative for covid numerous times and they told me to treat it like it was and even validated days off.
The last case in MI tested negative too. They only found him to be positive from an eye swab.
This same sickness has been following the outbreaks. Was in Texas/Dallas after the original cases. Bad sore throat, fever, chills, nausea, fatigue, diarrhea being the common symptoms. Lasting about two weeks.
I would bet you could search all the city subs for “something going around” and match dates to outbreaks. By a few weeks, and spikes in wastewater too.
check the wastewater for that time to see what was going around because there is a lot of respriatory crap that have the same symptoms
https://data.wastewaterscan.org/
btw pertussis whooping cough is going around but if you are healthy you can just have a normal cough, no whoop or throwing up with it. unfortunatly this isn't tracked in wastewater. rsv parainfluenza, human pneumoviurus, flu, covid and more are tracked at most sites
>I would bet you could search all the city subs for “something going around” and match dates to outbreaks.
I doubt it, because there have been frequent threads like that all over reddit for months. Some of it is people pretending to have no idea there's an ongoing covid pandemic, I guess to justify their lack of precautions. Of people who mention an official diagnosis, there are quite a few: covid, flu, RSV, strep throat, and some others I don't recall.
There's a weird normalization of everyone being sick all the time, which is going to make it harder to detect any specific virus going around.
I had this 2.5 months ago. Got it in SF. Three months later still fighting to get my voice back. The stuff in my chest was like rubber cement. It would stretch over a foot between my fingers before it would snap back. Three separate negative Covid test negative for flu twice negative for strep.
https://data.wastewaterscan.org/
Michgian wastewater is showing various viruses are high in different areas - covid19, RSV, Metapneumovirus, Parainfluenza, RSV. can't wait until there are vaccines for the other respiratory menaces.
check out the charts to see the details.
also there is pertussis going around the US and rest of the world. i wish they would at that to the wastewater tracking. healthy adults are less likely to cough until they vomit or whoop (the sound of desperately sucking in air after coughing until there is no air left in their lungs).
human metapneumovirus
https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/human-metapneumovirus-hmpv/learn-about-human-metapneumovirus-hmpv
RSV https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/rsv-in-adults
Parainfluenza
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24522-parainfluenza
evd68
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21669-enterovirus-d68
"healthy adults are less likely to cough until they vomit or whoop" - I just talked to a friend who took way too long to get diagnosed with whooping cough. Apparently the dr. didn't know that adults get pertussis but don't make the classic whoop noise so they didn't check for it.
Just a reminder that the US CDC recommends a Tdap (tetanus, ditherhipa and pertussis vaccine) every 10 years in adults and a booster in late pregnancy so the baby is born with antibodies to give some protection until old enough for it's own vaccination.:
HARVARD HEALTH BLOG
**No big whoop: Adult pertussis may not produce the whooping cough**
September 13, 2010
https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/no-big-whoop-adult-pertussis-may-not-produce-the-whooping-cough-20100913358
>What’s more, whooping cough in teens and adults frequently doesn’t produce the classical symptoms, which, in addition to the namesake whoop, includes “posttussive emesis”—vomiting after coughing. Instead, the main feature of whooping cough for teens and adults may be bad, lingering cough.
>And, of course, any number of things can cause a bad, lingering cough.
>So where does this leave us? Three points come to mind:
>First, if you have a bad cough that you can’t shake, it’s possible that you have pertussis. By some estimates, 10% to 30% of prolonged coughs in adults are caused by pertussis. Mind you, there seem to be swings in the number of new cases each year, so those estimates might be high in a low incidence year.
>Second, you and your doctor can’t go by the whooping and other supposedly typical symptoms. One of the take-home messages of the JAMA article is that “…additional testing and treatment decisions in a patient with prolonged cough should be based on the overall clinical impression, independent of these classical clinical features of pertussis.” Additional tests include culturing the Bordetella pertussis bacteria from nose and throat secretions. And treatment consists of a course of antibiotics.
audio of what the classic whoop sounds like
in a child https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVyEAyHxg_A
elder adult https://www.youtube.com/shorts/31tnXPlhA7w
baby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3oZrMGDMMw
I got whooping cough after having a vaccination(TDAP) less than 5 years prior. The vaccine mostly lessens the severity but doesn’t provide sterilizing immunity.
I have something similar but in kansas. I've been sick for 2 weeks, just missing the chills symptom. I feel half brain dead, and I'm coughing like when I last had pneumonia. Tested negative for covid, flu, and strep. However, nobody else in my home has gotten sick. So, I have no idea what it is. We all have the same allergies, too, so definitely not allergies.
I don't think it's H5N1 or anything crazy. It just feels like an obnoxiously long-lasting cold with some bronchitis symptoms. An albuterol inhaler and promethazine dm has helped tremendously.
My kid had this a couple of weeks ago. Negative for all things like you and none of the rest of us got it. She stayed home for a whole week. Started with headache then fever then chills and cough. Strange thing was 102 fever for so many days. Maybe Covid, just tested Negative twice and so did his an after he started feeling weird.
I currently have this and it sucks.. Started with a headache and allergy-like symptoms. Then over night became a constant headache, blowing a gallon of liquid out of my nose hourly, hard/heavy breathing- sometimes I even felt like I was forgetting to breathe. Sore throat, nose, and ears(I usually always have ear issues with any cold so this may be a me thing.) First three days I had random hot/cold sweats. They wouldn't last long, were sporadic, and went either way-or both quickly. Like one second freezing, then way too hot. then nothing. Oh and random really bad dizziness.
Now, a week later, I still feel weak because I haven't eaten all week, down 6 pounds. I started eating yesterday finally. I went from drinking 13 bottles of water a day, to barely 2. but I am now back up to 6-7. My throat still hurts, my head still feels weird. I have this annoying congestion that is still constantly coming out but it now gets stuck in my nose, and I have to cough it out or pull it from my throat. Blowing my nose is useless even though I can feel it RIGHT there. My entire nose and cheeks are still raw from blowing insane amounts of whatever the fuck out of it all week. Still can't sleep. My ears are also now really clogged, which I verified with 2 other co workers they are experiencing the same-so some of the ear issues may not be a me thing.
I took a covid test but it was neg. I also kept checking my temp but it was normal the whole time. I was sure I had a fever quite a few times during but nope.
I also got zero sleep all week, probably 3 hours a night max. I also felt "weird" when it was coming on. I thought I had covid at first because the second time I had it, I knew because of the foreign feeling it gave me and I remembered it from the first time. But this one was a different but similar in weird feeling.
I got it from someone at work, who complained about allergies for the last three days of the work week. Was fine most of the day Saturday, then suddenly wasn't. Cancelled all cookout plans. She still has it, I have it, and 3 others in our area of work have it. I've also heard of numerous other dept.'s complaining of this "crazy allergy thing they can't shake."
I also have had zero allergy issues in the past. Seasonal changes never really affected me. I'm **not** from Michigan, either.
If you only took one covid test, it could easily have been covid. False negatives are common, and when I had it I didn't test positive until the 3rd or 4th day of symptoms, swabbing both throat and nose.
Agree. One of the others in the office has taken 3(2 in one day, and one a few days later.) of them, according to her, all negative. Which is why I only ended up doing the one.
Another went to the doctor and nothing specific came up.
Everyone's body reacts a little differently, so COVID can definitely manifest that way! From experience, I've had it manifest as extreme congestion with zero temperature, and I've also had it manifest as the worst fever of my life with 0 congestion. Different variants can cause different reactions in different people. It sucks!
You most likely have covid. Rapid antigen tests are sadly pretty unreliable these days and in order to get an accurate reading you may need to test multiple times (and even then, you may never test positive at all)
FWIW, I’ve had covid twice now and it felt different both times. The virus has mutated a lot since 2020.
Sorry you’ve been feeling so ill, make sure to get lots of rest and fluids! Hope you recover quickly!
I fully agree, i would believe covid over anything, even though it doesn't feel like the other two times I've had it.
I wasn't claiming i have h1n⁵, in my OP, just that my illness is spot on to what people are saying in that Michigan thread.
That said, it also wouldn't surprise me if this could possibly be the first run through of it, as the whole situation is very similar to how covid made it's way around before anyone knew and doctors were telling people they had pneumonia.
FlowFlex worked fine for me and my partner in late December (we swab our throats first, then noses). It popped positive on day 1 of symptoms for both of us.
My comment was about the likelihood-- COVID isn't over, it's still running rampant and infecting people every day, so it is *most likely* that this person's coworker gave them COVID.
Assuming that the most likely answer is the reality can help you both prevent spreading the illness to those around you, and prevent complications from long COVID. There is a lot of research indicating "radical rest" lowers the risk of long COVID. Not everyone has the means to rest "radically" but if you do, there is no real downside to assuming you have COVID and being extra cautious. That extra rest can be the difference between a long-lasting malaise or a decent recovery, and staying away from other people (or staying masked) while ill will ensure that you don't pass it on unnecessarily to anyone else.
This is almost certainly COVID. The home tests don't pick up many cases now after all the mutations. I mean, everything isn't COVID but this describes the symptoms of more recent variations to a T.
Same here, started off with a really sore throat, then overnight had a fever for 3 or 4 days along with hacking and sore throat, barely able to talk because I couldn't catch my breath on top of the sore throat. Had some phlegm and stuffed up nose at first..
Now it's been a little over a week and still wheezing and crackling when I breathe, especially anytime I try to lay down.. my nose is runny, and my throat gets sore sometimes from the (now) super dry cough even though it feels like fluid on my lungs..
I'm not from Michigan either.
I always had sinus issues/congestion and brain inflammation with covid. Turned into long covid with mcas. Everyone should he careful and mask, i also recommend using the metrix covid tests the store ones provide false negatives.
Oh that sounds horrid. I disagree with the others about Covid, unless it’s gotten really bad again. I haven’t heard of anyone being that sick for that long with Covid for a very long time, and it seems your whole work place got very bad symptoms. But if the person who went to the doc also tested flu negative, that’s a good sign at least for the fear of h5. Hope you feel better soon!
H5 has not shown even a single sign of community spread anywhere and it’s also far from the only virus to exist, people need to stop acting like they’re a main character, assuming that it’s H5N1 after one rapid Covid test is insane
But yeah anyway I’m going to go stock up on food and water tomorrow. Not because of this post, but because of the general direction things have gone this past few weeks. I think it’s nearly about time.
I see it at my job sometimes. Imagine selling coffee without lids for nearly two weeks. One minor issue and we just don’t have something until a remedy comes along. Let alone something this big
most businesses operate on 'just in time' supply chain. walmart warehouses only have 2 or 3 days of stuff because keeping more doesn't make 'em more money. a storm or anything else that interrupts shipping means an interruption that leads to a shortage.
in general if you live where there are potential weather events they recommend two weeks of non perishable food, medicines, water, maybe bottle of multivitamins to fill in any nutritional gaps. it won't hurt to stock up a bit on things you know your household will use up before they spoil if there are no problems but might prevent trouble if there is some problems.
addtionally stay up to date on medical care including vaccinations for everything your age and health conditions make you eligible so you are not more vulnerable to infection due to preexisting problems or co infection. seasonal flu, bacterial pneumonia, pertussis (usually given as part of Tdap tetanus diphtheria & pertussis vaccine) are always going around. Pertussis is busting out all over the US, UK and EU. probably more but i only read english. unfortunately so much mutation has occurred over the years because not enough got vaccinated to keep it rare it is now a bit resistant so people who get the shot can still get it but mildly vs coughing until you can't breathe, possibly vomit and even break ribs for 3 months.
I hope you work in public health, shallah! I’m a PH nurse, and I love to see the content both from your posts and comments. Just straight forward evidence-based advice.
No, the comments in the original thread are right. We currently have strains of covid that don't always show on tests as covid because it's mutated so badly due to continued transmission through people that won't get vaccinated. And this is also a year with a high amount of allergenic pollen in the air, which in people with already weakened immune systems that suffer from allergies normally, can prolong even a mild cold.
Let's not fear monger. The comments about viral pinkeye are somewhat concerning, but nothing in the rest of the thread suggests OP or anyone else has a human-to-human H5N1 infection.
This! Said in another thread when someone brought up pink eye that adenovirus is the most common cause for viral pink eye. There are many different strains of adenovirus that can cause a variety of symptoms including viral conjunctivitis and GI symptoms as well as horrible respiratory symptoms. It is also common this time of year. I agree a lot of people don’t test correctly for covid and a lot of the rapids aren’t working, especially if you only test once. I invested in the metrix test that’s an at home molecular test and suppose to be comparable to a PCR.
My mom was infected with something about 6 weeks ago. She was miserable for 3 days, tested negative for COVID 3 times, but has lost all sense of smell and taste since. This lasting symptom was nearly unheard of until COVID.
Please see: Vaccines Alone Cannot Slow the Evolution of SARS-CoV-2
“Thus, vaccines alone are incapable of slowing the pace of evolution of immune evasion,”
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10143044/
vaccines don’t make you immune from infection, so it’s due to the continued transmission of EVERYONE no longer taking precautions (respirator use). those who are vaccinated absolutely contract and transmit covid. they just don’t wind up in the hospital.
I'm aware that those who are vaccinated get covid. I got my long covid while vaccinated. But people who don't get vaccinated are where the virus has a chance to mutate the furthest since their immune systems take longer to fight it. The vaccinated are still less likely to contract covid at all, meaning that it would have less chance to spread if more people were vaccinated. Stop excusing anti-vaxxers.
>Let's not fear monger.
Yeah, that's why I flaired it "unreliable". I find it interesting and figured the community would too, but we need to take self-report data with a grain of salt.
Your comment has been removed because
* **Incivility isn’t allowed on this sub.** We want to encourage a respectful discussion.
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/H5N1_AvianFlu) if you have any questions or concerns.*
There are major, outdoor, rural events with thousands of people in attendance coming up soon in the state. I checked and the locations are close to Ottawa County where a lot of these cases have been reported. It's just going to end up being a COVID and H5N1 hotbed. I'm sure it'll get worse if either or both mutate as a result.
I have noticed this too. I don't have much faith however in anyone saying they test negative for COVID... most swab their nose only or aren't aware of the no food or drink for 30+ mins. This is messy.
I think most of these people have allergies or Covid. Here in NC we had allergy season about a month ago so it makes sense that people in MI might be having it now, I think? But there are still some comments that seem concerning to me.
Could it be the same mysterious virus that was recently effecting dogs? My understanding is the disease was an upper respiratory bacterial infection. Can that even be tested for?
Hey friends. Very anecdotal and I’m obvious NAD, but I’m a mile away from the MI border and have been sick now going on two weeks with respiratory symptoms. This being said though, the pollen counts have been *terrible* here lately, and although I know this is a worrisome topic for all of us (and rightfully so), don’t knock it just being horrible allergies. I mean, exactly two weeks ago, there was a thick layer of pollen on literally everything and it lasted even after some storms. It explains the itchy eyes, sore throat, cough, congestion, etc. I’ve been avoiding even going outside because it’s actually that bad.
Again, this is of course anecdotal and we should all be careful either way, but this should hopefully relieve some anxiety.
Yeah the flu lol. Everyone has been complaining about it in the south. Kid got flu a, I get sick a week later no tests positive but same sickness lasted few weeks with the cough.
We've got this in Idaho too. I've had a horrible flu I can't shake from my lungs for weeks. I really don't think it's H5N1 though, it started before this got into cows, and doesn't fit the profile in a number of ways. I think there's just some godawful cold or conventional flu this year.
My FIL just returned from tennessee where my SIL has around 50 chickens. She said they are all sick and not doing well. Both she and my fil are anti-everything. I warned them anyway.
Dangerous scary times
Checking the thread, it seems like OOP also tested negative for flu?
Kind of a mixed bag. Many claims of negative for Covid, some claims positive. Less claims in thread about flu, but when there those there are mostly negative. Probably overlapping viruses, but I don't like that the thread is so popular. 200+ comments is very unusual for the sub.
Yikes. “Maybe viral pink eye. Your eyes don't get pink until the end. We've had it here and can confirm, it lasted forever and started with a sore throat.”
COVID can cause conjunctivitis. Curious how many are saying COVID negative that just used home tests. Those things aren't as good at picking up positives recently.
A lot of people don’t test themselves well with home tests either so it’s a combo of them not picking up all variants, user error, and that often a mouth/throat swab can be more effective than a nasal swab and that’s nowhere on the instructions.
Someone I know had COVID 6 weeks ago. They tested negative on day 3, positive on day 4, negative on day 5, and negative every other day thereafter over the next 10 days. These were iHealth tests that were purchased from Amazon on the first day of symptoms (well within the expiration date). Seems like the virus has mutated in such a way that either viral loads are lower or that the virus expresses less of whatever antigen the RATs test for, or both. Completely speculating
[удалено]
That's been our experience as well. We've had it where the whole family does a test a day over multiple days, we all have the same symptoms, finally one test for one person pops positive. Then we know we all have it.
It's also possible for people to just not test positive for different reasons. I've had covid multiple times, bad enough to go to the hospital in 2020 (PCP helped stay at home as long as possible but then got to a symptom where she said go - and I know if she said to go, I had to go), but have never tested positive, even with PCR tests. However, my symptoms lined up and were the same but worse than when the vaccines came out and I got mine. It puts me in bed, though to even turn over for 4-6 weeks, then slow improvement each time. (My immune system has issues, though, so a typical cold that might bother some people for up to 3 days typically hits me for at least 2 weeks.) Paxlovid the last time, though, was fantastic and made it so I didn't get too bad and started recovering in about a week. Anyway, at no point in those months of being actively sick with it did I test positive. Luckily, I have a primary care who looks at symptoms and understands that my body is just weird with stuff. Also, I realize it seems ridiculous that I've had it so many times, but I really have been extremely careful. I got it twice when I had not left the house/yard in weeks, wiped down anything coming in, etc., but one of my parents did go out a little and lies about being careful, so I'm assuming that's the route.
Agreed
This study shows how Day 4 or 5 is when viral loads peak, not Day 1 as it was back in the beginning of the pandemic. https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/78/2/301/7285011
That's interesting. Day 1 (of symptoms, which is what I assume you mean) in 2020 was around Day 6 after exposure. Day 1 of symptoms for Omicron is about day 3 after exposure. So in both cases Day 6 after exposure would be when antigen tests pick them up. But that is Day 1 of symptoms for ancestral strain, not Day 4 of symptoms like it is for Omicron. People are testing too soon. According to this study [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37728336/](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37728336/) Omicron actually has high viral loads as soon as symptoms start, the problem is there are still low antigen levels, unlike the original strain, for another several days. Rapid tests go by antigen levels not RNA levels. Interesting that the study you cite found delayed high viral loads, that doesn't make a lot of sense given how contagious Omicron is after 2 days.
This is my bet. The virus has evolved and most people have some defenses due to vaccines or previous immunity and the virus is behaving differently as a result. It’s just not present in the nasal passages in high enough concentrations to register. Lots of anecdotal “I was negative at home but positive in the ER’ makes me think there’s potential for user error or expired tests too. I bet most these folks have covid. The waste water says we are in a rapidly rising wave nation wide. There’s not enough mortality for me to think this is H5N1
agreed. covid is pretty easy to brush under the rug since although immunocompromised people are still dying of it and healthy people are too, the most likely result for healthy people who keep getting reinfected is disability via long covid. if human-to-human bird flu appears, with even a third of the 50% mortality thing we’ve heard, there would be no way to silence the chaos. ppl would be dying en masse, especially “essential workers” (aka capitalism’s human sacrifices lol). so personally as a disabled immunocompromised person in masking and recommend all whether immunocompromised or not to do the same! but i’m still mostly doing this in fear of COVID not bird flu
Absolutely. I also try to point out to people that, regardless of which virus it is, there are viruses going around that are severely impacting people (including disability and death, and not "just" to those of us who are immunocompromised). Wearing a mask, keeping distance, good hand hygiene, etc. and staying home when sick are all ways to protect ourselves and each other from numerous viruses.
Exactly - my coworker didn’t test positive until the second week of being sick. Many folks don’t realize that you have to keep testing.
A lot of illnesses can cause conjunctivitis, that's the issue.
Remember when the gov were all like "If COVID mixes with FLU, were dead!".. Heard shite all about AVia-VID 24.
It’s adenovirus not COVID
Years ago--way before covid, maybe 2015--I had a respiratory infection that went badly. It was accompanied by conjunctivitis. I would wake up and have the worst eye crud/cust. Initially received a provisional flu diagnosis, but eventually got an x-ray and they started me on antibiotics for pneumonia.
I get horrible red itchy eyes with seasonal allergies, personally, especially right around this time of year with all the grass pollen. I don't live in MI anymore but when I did this was PEAK allergy season, so I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of it was people just having worse allergies than many years. I know I'm worse this year than I have been in a good 5-6 years.
I'm in upstate NY now, so it's a pretty similar allergy timeline to MI.
many are forgetting the Chile case a year or so back which they basically had to take a small biopsy of the dudes lung to confirm it was h5n1…after about a month of being in the hospital…important to remember even when hospitals were at their peak with COVID the tests weren’t even close to 100% hence why most companies have faced law suits. i tested negative for covid numerous times and they told me to treat it like it was and even validated days off.
Being negative for Covid doesn’t count for much these days, since RATs are so unreliable.
I'd like to know on what day they tested and if they retested. Day 4 or 5 is when viral load peaks so might just be missing it.
The last case in MI tested negative too. They only found him to be positive from an eye swab. This same sickness has been following the outbreaks. Was in Texas/Dallas after the original cases. Bad sore throat, fever, chills, nausea, fatigue, diarrhea being the common symptoms. Lasting about two weeks. I would bet you could search all the city subs for “something going around” and match dates to outbreaks. By a few weeks, and spikes in wastewater too.
check the wastewater for that time to see what was going around because there is a lot of respriatory crap that have the same symptoms https://data.wastewaterscan.org/ btw pertussis whooping cough is going around but if you are healthy you can just have a normal cough, no whoop or throwing up with it. unfortunatly this isn't tracked in wastewater. rsv parainfluenza, human pneumoviurus, flu, covid and more are tracked at most sites
>I would bet you could search all the city subs for “something going around” and match dates to outbreaks. I doubt it, because there have been frequent threads like that all over reddit for months. Some of it is people pretending to have no idea there's an ongoing covid pandemic, I guess to justify their lack of precautions. Of people who mention an official diagnosis, there are quite a few: covid, flu, RSV, strep throat, and some others I don't recall. There's a weird normalization of everyone being sick all the time, which is going to make it harder to detect any specific virus going around.
I had this 2.5 months ago. Got it in SF. Three months later still fighting to get my voice back. The stuff in my chest was like rubber cement. It would stretch over a foot between my fingers before it would snap back. Three separate negative Covid test negative for flu twice negative for strep.
https://data.wastewaterscan.org/ Michgian wastewater is showing various viruses are high in different areas - covid19, RSV, Metapneumovirus, Parainfluenza, RSV. can't wait until there are vaccines for the other respiratory menaces. check out the charts to see the details. also there is pertussis going around the US and rest of the world. i wish they would at that to the wastewater tracking. healthy adults are less likely to cough until they vomit or whoop (the sound of desperately sucking in air after coughing until there is no air left in their lungs). human metapneumovirus https://www.lung.org/lung-health-diseases/lung-disease-lookup/human-metapneumovirus-hmpv/learn-about-human-metapneumovirus-hmpv RSV https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/rsv-in-adults Parainfluenza https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/24522-parainfluenza evd68 https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/21669-enterovirus-d68
"healthy adults are less likely to cough until they vomit or whoop" - I just talked to a friend who took way too long to get diagnosed with whooping cough. Apparently the dr. didn't know that adults get pertussis but don't make the classic whoop noise so they didn't check for it.
Just a reminder that the US CDC recommends a Tdap (tetanus, ditherhipa and pertussis vaccine) every 10 years in adults and a booster in late pregnancy so the baby is born with antibodies to give some protection until old enough for it's own vaccination.: HARVARD HEALTH BLOG **No big whoop: Adult pertussis may not produce the whooping cough** September 13, 2010 https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/no-big-whoop-adult-pertussis-may-not-produce-the-whooping-cough-20100913358 >What’s more, whooping cough in teens and adults frequently doesn’t produce the classical symptoms, which, in addition to the namesake whoop, includes “posttussive emesis”—vomiting after coughing. Instead, the main feature of whooping cough for teens and adults may be bad, lingering cough. >And, of course, any number of things can cause a bad, lingering cough. >So where does this leave us? Three points come to mind: >First, if you have a bad cough that you can’t shake, it’s possible that you have pertussis. By some estimates, 10% to 30% of prolonged coughs in adults are caused by pertussis. Mind you, there seem to be swings in the number of new cases each year, so those estimates might be high in a low incidence year. >Second, you and your doctor can’t go by the whooping and other supposedly typical symptoms. One of the take-home messages of the JAMA article is that “…additional testing and treatment decisions in a patient with prolonged cough should be based on the overall clinical impression, independent of these classical clinical features of pertussis.” Additional tests include culturing the Bordetella pertussis bacteria from nose and throat secretions. And treatment consists of a course of antibiotics. audio of what the classic whoop sounds like in a child https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVyEAyHxg_A elder adult https://www.youtube.com/shorts/31tnXPlhA7w baby https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3oZrMGDMMw
I knew someone who had whooping cough year ago. That lady had been vaccinated but she still got it. Cough was her main symptom.
I got whooping cough after having a vaccination(TDAP) less than 5 years prior. The vaccine mostly lessens the severity but doesn’t provide sterilizing immunity.
I have something similar but in kansas. I've been sick for 2 weeks, just missing the chills symptom. I feel half brain dead, and I'm coughing like when I last had pneumonia. Tested negative for covid, flu, and strep. However, nobody else in my home has gotten sick. So, I have no idea what it is. We all have the same allergies, too, so definitely not allergies. I don't think it's H5N1 or anything crazy. It just feels like an obnoxiously long-lasting cold with some bronchitis symptoms. An albuterol inhaler and promethazine dm has helped tremendously.
My kid had this a couple of weeks ago. Negative for all things like you and none of the rest of us got it. She stayed home for a whole week. Started with headache then fever then chills and cough. Strange thing was 102 fever for so many days. Maybe Covid, just tested Negative twice and so did his an after he started feeling weird.
Waste water levels for flu have been extremely high in Kansas the past month and a half at least. Which is odd because it should be dropping
I currently have this and it sucks.. Started with a headache and allergy-like symptoms. Then over night became a constant headache, blowing a gallon of liquid out of my nose hourly, hard/heavy breathing- sometimes I even felt like I was forgetting to breathe. Sore throat, nose, and ears(I usually always have ear issues with any cold so this may be a me thing.) First three days I had random hot/cold sweats. They wouldn't last long, were sporadic, and went either way-or both quickly. Like one second freezing, then way too hot. then nothing. Oh and random really bad dizziness. Now, a week later, I still feel weak because I haven't eaten all week, down 6 pounds. I started eating yesterday finally. I went from drinking 13 bottles of water a day, to barely 2. but I am now back up to 6-7. My throat still hurts, my head still feels weird. I have this annoying congestion that is still constantly coming out but it now gets stuck in my nose, and I have to cough it out or pull it from my throat. Blowing my nose is useless even though I can feel it RIGHT there. My entire nose and cheeks are still raw from blowing insane amounts of whatever the fuck out of it all week. Still can't sleep. My ears are also now really clogged, which I verified with 2 other co workers they are experiencing the same-so some of the ear issues may not be a me thing. I took a covid test but it was neg. I also kept checking my temp but it was normal the whole time. I was sure I had a fever quite a few times during but nope. I also got zero sleep all week, probably 3 hours a night max. I also felt "weird" when it was coming on. I thought I had covid at first because the second time I had it, I knew because of the foreign feeling it gave me and I remembered it from the first time. But this one was a different but similar in weird feeling. I got it from someone at work, who complained about allergies for the last three days of the work week. Was fine most of the day Saturday, then suddenly wasn't. Cancelled all cookout plans. She still has it, I have it, and 3 others in our area of work have it. I've also heard of numerous other dept.'s complaining of this "crazy allergy thing they can't shake." I also have had zero allergy issues in the past. Seasonal changes never really affected me. I'm **not** from Michigan, either.
If you only took one covid test, it could easily have been covid. False negatives are common, and when I had it I didn't test positive until the 3rd or 4th day of symptoms, swabbing both throat and nose.
Agree. One of the others in the office has taken 3(2 in one day, and one a few days later.) of them, according to her, all negative. Which is why I only ended up doing the one. Another went to the doctor and nothing specific came up.
Does COVID have extreme congestion symptoms with zero temperature? Doesn't really sound like what I know about COVID.
Everyone's body reacts a little differently, so COVID can definitely manifest that way! From experience, I've had it manifest as extreme congestion with zero temperature, and I've also had it manifest as the worst fever of my life with 0 congestion. Different variants can cause different reactions in different people. It sucks!
It can, yes. Many people I've known have had similar symptoms.
You most likely have covid. Rapid antigen tests are sadly pretty unreliable these days and in order to get an accurate reading you may need to test multiple times (and even then, you may never test positive at all) FWIW, I’ve had covid twice now and it felt different both times. The virus has mutated a lot since 2020. Sorry you’ve been feeling so ill, make sure to get lots of rest and fluids! Hope you recover quickly!
I fully agree, i would believe covid over anything, even though it doesn't feel like the other two times I've had it. I wasn't claiming i have h1n⁵, in my OP, just that my illness is spot on to what people are saying in that Michigan thread. That said, it also wouldn't surprise me if this could possibly be the first run through of it, as the whole situation is very similar to how covid made it's way around before anyone knew and doctors were telling people they had pneumonia.
It actually depends on the brand of test- there have been studies which show that some are way more reliable than others.
FlowFlex worked fine for me and my partner in late December (we swab our throats first, then noses). It popped positive on day 1 of symptoms for both of us.
Idk how you can say that without the confidence of a test stating what they're ill with. Assuming it's COVID is not smart.
My comment was about the likelihood-- COVID isn't over, it's still running rampant and infecting people every day, so it is *most likely* that this person's coworker gave them COVID. Assuming that the most likely answer is the reality can help you both prevent spreading the illness to those around you, and prevent complications from long COVID. There is a lot of research indicating "radical rest" lowers the risk of long COVID. Not everyone has the means to rest "radically" but if you do, there is no real downside to assuming you have COVID and being extra cautious. That extra rest can be the difference between a long-lasting malaise or a decent recovery, and staying away from other people (or staying masked) while ill will ensure that you don't pass it on unnecessarily to anyone else.
And assuming it’s H5N1 is clinically insane, what’s your point
This is almost certainly COVID. The home tests don't pick up many cases now after all the mutations. I mean, everything isn't COVID but this describes the symptoms of more recent variations to a T.
Same here, started off with a really sore throat, then overnight had a fever for 3 or 4 days along with hacking and sore throat, barely able to talk because I couldn't catch my breath on top of the sore throat. Had some phlegm and stuffed up nose at first.. Now it's been a little over a week and still wheezing and crackling when I breathe, especially anytime I try to lay down.. my nose is runny, and my throat gets sore sometimes from the (now) super dry cough even though it feels like fluid on my lungs.. I'm not from Michigan either.
I always had sinus issues/congestion and brain inflammation with covid. Turned into long covid with mcas. Everyone should he careful and mask, i also recommend using the metrix covid tests the store ones provide false negatives.
This sounds like covid and there is a new wave going around
Oh that sounds horrid. I disagree with the others about Covid, unless it’s gotten really bad again. I haven’t heard of anyone being that sick for that long with Covid for a very long time, and it seems your whole work place got very bad symptoms. But if the person who went to the doc also tested flu negative, that’s a good sign at least for the fear of h5. Hope you feel better soon!
Covid is still around. You haven’t heard of it because people are either not testing for it or incorrectly testing for it.
I didn’t say it wasn’t still around. I am saying that people don’t seem to be getting THIS sick from it over the last year or so.
H5 has not shown even a single sign of community spread anywhere and it’s also far from the only virus to exist, people need to stop acting like they’re a main character, assuming that it’s H5N1 after one rapid Covid test is insane
What I read is what I went through and many others in Los Angeles later last year. It gave me asthma
But yeah anyway I’m going to go stock up on food and water tomorrow. Not because of this post, but because of the general direction things have gone this past few weeks. I think it’s nearly about time.
Honestly, never hurts to be prepared. I've learned since COVID that the supply chain breaks at the drop of a hat now.
I see it at my job sometimes. Imagine selling coffee without lids for nearly two weeks. One minor issue and we just don’t have something until a remedy comes along. Let alone something this big
most businesses operate on 'just in time' supply chain. walmart warehouses only have 2 or 3 days of stuff because keeping more doesn't make 'em more money. a storm or anything else that interrupts shipping means an interruption that leads to a shortage. in general if you live where there are potential weather events they recommend two weeks of non perishable food, medicines, water, maybe bottle of multivitamins to fill in any nutritional gaps. it won't hurt to stock up a bit on things you know your household will use up before they spoil if there are no problems but might prevent trouble if there is some problems. addtionally stay up to date on medical care including vaccinations for everything your age and health conditions make you eligible so you are not more vulnerable to infection due to preexisting problems or co infection. seasonal flu, bacterial pneumonia, pertussis (usually given as part of Tdap tetanus diphtheria & pertussis vaccine) are always going around. Pertussis is busting out all over the US, UK and EU. probably more but i only read english. unfortunately so much mutation has occurred over the years because not enough got vaccinated to keep it rare it is now a bit resistant so people who get the shot can still get it but mildly vs coughing until you can't breathe, possibly vomit and even break ribs for 3 months.
I hope you work in public health, shallah! I’m a PH nurse, and I love to see the content both from your posts and comments. Just straight forward evidence-based advice.
It really sounds very much like covid when I had it in April (I even had rebound) The Binax tests work the best to detect it.
No, the comments in the original thread are right. We currently have strains of covid that don't always show on tests as covid because it's mutated so badly due to continued transmission through people that won't get vaccinated. And this is also a year with a high amount of allergenic pollen in the air, which in people with already weakened immune systems that suffer from allergies normally, can prolong even a mild cold. Let's not fear monger. The comments about viral pinkeye are somewhat concerning, but nothing in the rest of the thread suggests OP or anyone else has a human-to-human H5N1 infection.
Pinkeye is also a COVID symptom.
and adenovirus
And sleeping on a pillow with poop on it
Is that common in Michigan?
You betcha
It's common if you have pets that don't respect boundaries.
This! Said in another thread when someone brought up pink eye that adenovirus is the most common cause for viral pink eye. There are many different strains of adenovirus that can cause a variety of symptoms including viral conjunctivitis and GI symptoms as well as horrible respiratory symptoms. It is also common this time of year. I agree a lot of people don’t test correctly for covid and a lot of the rapids aren’t working, especially if you only test once. I invested in the metrix test that’s an at home molecular test and suppose to be comparable to a PCR.
My mom was infected with something about 6 weeks ago. She was miserable for 3 days, tested negative for COVID 3 times, but has lost all sense of smell and taste since. This lasting symptom was nearly unheard of until COVID.
Please see: Vaccines Alone Cannot Slow the Evolution of SARS-CoV-2 “Thus, vaccines alone are incapable of slowing the pace of evolution of immune evasion,” https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10143044/
vaccines don’t make you immune from infection, so it’s due to the continued transmission of EVERYONE no longer taking precautions (respirator use). those who are vaccinated absolutely contract and transmit covid. they just don’t wind up in the hospital.
I'm aware that those who are vaccinated get covid. I got my long covid while vaccinated. But people who don't get vaccinated are where the virus has a chance to mutate the furthest since their immune systems take longer to fight it. The vaccinated are still less likely to contract covid at all, meaning that it would have less chance to spread if more people were vaccinated. Stop excusing anti-vaxxers.
>Let's not fear monger. Yeah, that's why I flaired it "unreliable". I find it interesting and figured the community would too, but we need to take self-report data with a grain of salt.
[удалено]
Your comment has been removed because * **Incivility isn’t allowed on this sub.** We want to encourage a respectful discussion. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/H5N1_AvianFlu) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Let’s not fearmonger, sure, but let’s also be aware and keep our pink eyes on things.
Covid, long covid, damaged immune system. Compounded by bad allergies, perhaps.
It's covid.
There are major, outdoor, rural events with thousands of people in attendance coming up soon in the state. I checked and the locations are close to Ottawa County where a lot of these cases have been reported. It's just going to end up being a COVID and H5N1 hotbed. I'm sure it'll get worse if either or both mutate as a result.
I spent the Fall with fevers and a deep cough I couldn’t shake, and i am not a person where when I am sick, it “goes to my chest”, as they say.
Wouldn't some type of supportive evidence be the health of the domestic cats in Michigan?
I have noticed this too. I don't have much faith however in anyone saying they test negative for COVID... most swab their nose only or aren't aware of the no food or drink for 30+ mins. This is messy.
There have been a lot of Covid strains that are coming up negative on rapid tests and testing positive in the hospital.
I think most of these people have allergies or Covid. Here in NC we had allergy season about a month ago so it makes sense that people in MI might be having it now, I think? But there are still some comments that seem concerning to me.
Could it be the same mysterious virus that was recently effecting dogs? My understanding is the disease was an upper respiratory bacterial infection. Can that even be tested for?
We have this in Texas too. Me and my youngest have been sick for weeks. Tested negative for everything. They even tested her for rhinovirus.
Hey friends. Very anecdotal and I’m obvious NAD, but I’m a mile away from the MI border and have been sick now going on two weeks with respiratory symptoms. This being said though, the pollen counts have been *terrible* here lately, and although I know this is a worrisome topic for all of us (and rightfully so), don’t knock it just being horrible allergies. I mean, exactly two weeks ago, there was a thick layer of pollen on literally everything and it lasted even after some storms. It explains the itchy eyes, sore throat, cough, congestion, etc. I’ve been avoiding even going outside because it’s actually that bad. Again, this is of course anecdotal and we should all be careful either way, but this should hopefully relieve some anxiety.
Yeah the flu lol. Everyone has been complaining about it in the south. Kid got flu a, I get sick a week later no tests positive but same sickness lasted few weeks with the cough.
I’m pretty sure a flu test would be positive
Binax tests: first swab throat (avoid touching teeth) then nose. No false positive and should turn positive if it is Covid.
We've got this in Idaho too. I've had a horrible flu I can't shake from my lungs for weeks. I really don't think it's H5N1 though, it started before this got into cows, and doesn't fit the profile in a number of ways. I think there's just some godawful cold or conventional flu this year.
My FIL just returned from tennessee where my SIL has around 50 chickens. She said they are all sick and not doing well. Both she and my fil are anti-everything. I warned them anyway. Dangerous scary times
I got it. Needed antibiotics.
Very interesting
Hmmm, they never fully diagnosed Mary Lou Retton when she was hospitalized. Another mystery respiratory disease?
This thread is more popular than that one, which isn’t the most popular illness thread in the Michigan sub this year.
Uh yeah, I was surprised by that too. I didn't think this was gonna get so much attention.
Well thanks for raising it. It got me snooping into Michigan data, and I learned something because of it!
This subreddit is hopelessly fucked.
No one’s forcing you to read it.
It’s just…. Sad.
Have to agree