Commercial buildings closed during the lockdown may be at risk for a Legionnaires’ outbreak. A new study has found a link between diesel exhaust and Parkinson’s disease. Virtual meetings have been hacked with images of child pornography.

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Businesses need to brace themselves for a new potential risk now that the world is beginning to reopen after months of pandemic-related lockdown: Legionnaires’ disease.

Any commercial facility vacated or underutilized for more than three weeks is at risk for a Legionnaires’ outbreak, unless the water pipes are properly flushed and otherwise sanitized, public health experts warn.

Legionnaires’ disease infects people when legionella bacteria is disseminated into the air as an aerosol from water sources, such as hot tubs, showerheads, fountains and industrial water cooling systems. Victims tend to display the same symptoms as coronavirus patients, including cough, chills and fever, making misdiagnosis a possibility.

Source: Buildings closed by coronavirus face another risk: Legionnaires’ disease

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A new study from UCLA has found evidence of a link between diesel exhaust and Parkinson’s disease.

Findings of the study, published in the journal Toxicological Sciences, show that chemicals in diesel exhaust can trigger the toxic buildup in the brain of a protein called alpha-synuclein, commonly seen in people with Parkinson’s.

Previous studies have shown a connection between living in areas with higher levels of traffic-related air pollution and Parkinson’s, but scientists couldn’t be certain “whether air pollution is actually the thing that’s causing the effect or whether it’s something else in urban environments,” said Jeff Bronstein, a professor of neurology and director of the UCLA Movement Disorders Program.

The new study, in which researchers used zebrafish and cultured human cells, showed that exposure to certain chemicals found in diesel exhaust resulted in a change in behavior and caused neurons to die off due to disruption of autophagy—the process of breaking down old or damaged proteins to make room for the new ones needed for healthy communication between neurons.

In Parkinson’s, alpha-synuclein proteins that would normally be disposed of pile up in toxic clumps in and around neurons, eventually killing them and interfering with the proper functioning of the brain, which can result in symptoms such as tremors and muscle rigidity.

Source: UCLA

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Your Zoom meeting could be violated by images of child pornography, says the FBI in a new warning.

The FBI said it has received more than 195 reports of incidents throughout the United States and in other countries in which a Zoom participant was able to broadcast a video depicting child sexual abuse material. The FBI said it considers this activity to be a violent crime that re-victimizes the depicted child with every viewing. Anyone who inadvertently sees the material during a virtual event is potentially a victim as well, the warning advises.

The FBI said it is seeking the public’s assistance to identify those responsible for these crimes. If you administered, hosted or participated in a Zoom meeting that was hacked with this material, contact the FBI before deleting or destroying any computer logs or recordings of the meeting.

Source: FBI.gov warning, May 20, 2020