Season's changing and spring break is almost here. It is a great time to relax and enjoy a respite from the daily grind. However, it is also the time when weather changes, so you must keep a check on your health. Whether you are travelling, flying, driving or taking a cruise for your breaks, it is essential that you take care of yourself so you can relax well and have the most fun in your spring break!

It is quite normal for anyone who wants to go on a vacation to travel through crowded environment like airports, or train and bus stations. However, these are also places where one can easily pick up viruses like norovirus and flu. So, it is important that one must pays attention to good hand hygiene.

Dr W Graham Carlos, who is a professor of clinical medicine at the Indiana University School of Medicine said in a news release, "For those traveling south or to the sun, remember to pack sunscreen and stay hydrated as your skin and body have not acclimated to the warmer temperatures. Finally, use the time together to try to disconnect from media and connect with your family and friends with a specific plan to talk about mental and emotional well-being."

How You Travel Can Make A Difference And Keep You Safe

As per Dr Carlos, crowded environment increases the risk of exposure to various infectious diseases. This could ruin your trip. So, what can be done? As he suggests, hand hygiene in particular is the most important thing. While some people also choose to wear a mask. For anyone who is driving for long trips, it is important to get rest before.

Since the airports will be overcrowded, there may be delays too. It maybe a good idea to keep extra clothes in such a case. This will also allow you to maintain personal hygiene. If you are on a long flight, it is a great idea to get up once in a while and to move around every couple of hours to circulate blood in your legs. This will help you prevent any blood clots.

Check For Vaccinations

If you are going to areas where there is a beach, chances are, these tropical area may also have diseases looming over. Check for vaccinations and booster shots and get them done. It is also a good idea to check in advance to see what may be required in the country you are visiting.

Spring Cleaning

During winters, the house mostly remains shut, so spring is a good time to open your windows and let the sunshine come in. It is also a great time to clean your house from any mould that may have developed in your house during winters due to lack of sunshine and fresh air.

How To Take Care Of Your Hand Hygiene?

As per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), many diseases and conditions are spread by not washing hands with soap and clean water. However, if soap and water are not readily available, it is always a good idea to carry a hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol to clean your hands.

Why Is It Important?

CDC notes that washing hands can keep you healthy and prevent the spread of respiratory and diarrheal infections. Germs can spread form one person to another especially when your touch your eyes, nose, and mouth with unwashed hands, or when your prepare or eat good, touch surfaces or objects that have germs on them, or blow your nose, cough, or sneeze into hands and then touch other people's hands or common objects.

What Are The Key Time To Wash Hands?

• Before, during, and after preparing food
• Before and after eating food
• Before and after caring for someone at home who is sick
• Before and after treating a cut or a wound
• After using the toilet
• After changing diapers or cleaning up a child who has used a toilet
• After touching an animal, animal feed or animal waste
• After handling pets, pet foods, or pet treats
• After taking out garbage

The COVID-19 BA.3.2 strain, nicknamed Cicada Variant, is spreading rapidly in the US, raising the possibility of becoming the dominant strain in the country, according to experts.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), in its latest report, has raised concerns about BA.3.2 — a highly mutated variant of COVID.

BA.3.2 has already been reported in at least 23 countries, including 25 states in America, as per the report. It has also been detected in 132 wastewater samples from Massachusetts.

The 25 states include California, Connecticut, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Michigan, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, and Wyoming.

"Cicada can become the dominant strain in the US,” Dr. Robert H. Hopkins Jr., medical director of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases, told USA TODAY.

While it is not certain, it can also "drive a US summer surge.”

The CDC warned that a new variant "with substantial capacity to evade immunity from previous infections or vaccines could be associated with seasonal increases in COVID-19 activity.”

In the US, COVID-19 is still linked to roughly 300 to 500 deaths per week, according to recent data based on provisional estimates from the CDC.

Brandon Dionne, an associate clinical professor of pharmacy and health systems sciences at Northeastern University, stated that the virus may evolve and increase the possibility of more severe disease.

“It’s something we definitely want to monitor,” Dionne said. “It could, over time, become the dominant strain in the US, but it’s not yet there," he said.

Also read: COVID Variant BA.3.2 Spreads To 23 Countries: Is The Variant Under Monitoring A Cause Of Worry?

What Is The Cicada COVID Variant?

Cicada was first identified in a respiratory sample in South Africa in November 2024.

It is a descendant of the Omicron BA.3 lineage, and is genetically distinct from the previously circulating JN.1 lineages (including LP.8.1 and XFG).

BA.3.2 comprises two major branches, BA.3.2.1 and BA.3.2.2. BA.3.2.2 also has substitutions like: K356T, A575S, R681H, and R1162P.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated BA.3.2 as a Variant Under Monitoring (VUM). It means the variant may not be that dangerous yet, but it may have concerning mutations.

The CDC’s latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report explains that Cicada has “70 to 75 substitutions and deletions in the gene sequence of its spike protein”.

Also read: Maternal Vaccination During Pregnancy Can Prevent COVID-related Hospitalization In Babies: Study

Will Current COVID Vaccines Work?

The variant is particularly concerning as it provides no immune protection to people with previous infection or even vaccination.

“The number of mutations from JN.1 viruses makes it less likely that the current vaccines will be highly effective against Cicada, but we need more data to better answer this question,” Dr. Hopkins Jr. said.

However, according to the WHO, current COVID vaccines are expected to continue protecting against severe disease. Moreover, the WHO said BA.3.2 doesn’t seem to be making people sicker so far and hasn’t resulted in increased hospitalizations and deaths.

Common symptoms of Cicada variant include:

• Cough
• Fever or chills
• Sore throat
• Congestion
• Shortness of breath
• Loss of smell or taste
• Fatigue
• Headache.

The Italian authorities this week have confirmed the first human case of H9N2 Avian Flu in the Lombardy region – also the first in the European Union.

The influenza A(H9N2) infection was identified in a traveler returning from a non-European country, where the virus has previously been identified in birds. The patient has coexisting medical conditions and is currently receiving medical treatment in a hospital.

Italy’s Ministry of Health, in a statement, said that they identified “infection with the low-pathogenicity avian influenza A (H9N2) virus of animal origin, in a frail person with concomitant illnesses, who came from a non-European country where he contracted the infection, and is currently hospitalized”.

Public health authorities in the country have performed contact tracing as a precaution to identify and control possible onward transmission and have initiated several epidemiological and microbiological investigations.

“All the required checks were promptly carried out, and the relevant contacts were identified, as part of the ordinary prevention and surveillance activities. Currently, no critical issues have been identified, and the situation is being constantly monitored,” the Ministry said.

What is H9N2?

H9N2 is a subtype of the avian influenza A virus (bird flu) that causes respiratory illness in poultry worldwide and is endemic in many parts of Asia, Africa, and the Middle East.

While low-pathogenic in birds, it sporadically infects humans—usually children—causing mild, influenza-like illness, though severe cases can occur.

According to the WHO, most human cases of infection with avian influenza A(H9N2) viruses are exposed to the virus through contact with infected poultry or contaminated environments.

Also read: Japan Confirms New Highly Pathogenic Bird Flu Outbreak: Report

Human infection tends to result in mild clinical illness. However, globally, there have been some hospitalized cases and two fatal cases reported in the past.

“Based on available information, further sporadic human cases could occur as this virus is one of the most prevalent avian influenza viruses circulating in poultry in different regions. With the currently available evidence, the WHO assesses the current public health risk to the general population posed by this virus as low,” the WHO said.

Human bird flu cases have been reported in countries like China, India, the UK, and Vietnam, often resulting in full recovery.

Also read: UK Reports Its First Human Case Of Bird Flu

Rising Global Bird Flu Cases: Are Humans At Threat

Globally, the spread of bird flu cases has been driven by migratory birds, with increasing outbreaks in poultry farms across Japan, India, South Korea, and the US, among others.

To date, most human cases have occurred in people handling infected poultry or animals.

Key Symptoms of bird flu in humans include:

Cough,

sore throat,

runny or stuffy nose,

difficulty breathing

High fever (often >38°C),

fatigue,

muscle/body aches

Conjunctivitis (red/irritated eyes),

nausea,

vomiting,

diarrhea.

In severe cases, pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), have been reported.

Human infections remain rare, and the risk is also low, yet scientists say that the virus may someday evolve into a variant that can cause significant harm to humans. Recent infections in mammals (like cattle) increase concern.

Bird flu (H5N1) was detected in the US milk supply, particularly in raw milk from infected dairy cows, with high levels found in milk and udder tissues.

“There is a consensus among those who study how infectious diseases originate and spread that the next pandemic in humans is most likely to originate in a bird flu. Of the different types of bird flu that are especially important, H5N1 avian influenza is considered the most likely candidate for a spillover event, with a high fatality rate,” Dr. Gautam Menon, Professor of Physics & Biology, Ashoka University, told HealthandMe.

“From the small number of infections in humans that have been diagnosed, we know that about 30-40 percent of such cases can be fatal. But we don’t know the possible background of infections in which these deaths or serious cases might occur. In particular, the possibility of asymptomatic infections is open,” he added.

A 25-year-old Spanish woman has died by euthanasia after a long battle with her father over her right to die.

Noelia Castillo, a rape survivor who was left paralyzed in her lower half of the body after a suicide attempt in 2022, died on Thursday evening at a hospital in Barcelona.

While the Catalan regional government had granted her the right to assisted dying in 2024, her father, Geronimo Castillo, had raised legal objections. Her wish to ‘die in peace’ has also sparked debate around the country’s right-to-die law -- legalized in 2021.

Who Is Noelia Castillo?

Much of Castillo’s life during her childhood was spent in care homes. Her father's problems with alcohol had a significant impact on her mental health, and she underwent psychiatric treatment since her early teens.

Later, she was diagnosed with conditions including obsessive-compulsive disorder and Borderline Personality Disorder.

She was raped twice: first by an ex-boyfriend and later by three men in 2022 while at a state-supervised facility for vulnerable youth.

The assaults, which took a severe toll on her mental health, led her to make multiple suicide attempts.

In October 2022, she jumped from a fifth-floor window, which left her with a severe spinal cord injury and permanent paralysis in her lower body.

Also read: Harish Rana, India’s First Passive Euthanasia Case, Dies at AIIMS

Noelia Castillo’s Fight For Euthanasia

Castillo chose assisted dying to escape years of physical pain and emotional trauma.

In her final days, Castillo spoke openly about her suffering and her decision. In an interview with Spanish broadcaster Antena 3, she said: “I just cannot go on anymore… I want to go in peace now and stop suffering.”

Speaking earlier to Spanish TV programme Y Ahora Sonsoles, she added: “I am very clear… none of my family is in favour of euthanasia. But what about all the pain I’ve suffered during all these years?”

In 2024, the Catalan regional government granted her the right to assisted dying in 2024. But the process was suspended after legal objections raised by her father. According to her father, her mental health did not allow her to make better decisions about herself.

Noelia Castillo: 18-month-long Legal Battle

Christian Lawyers (Abogados Cristianos) had been attempting to block her death until the last moment. For 18 months, the case moved through multiple courts, eventually reaching Spain’s Constitutional Court, which ruled there was “no violation of fundamental rights” in allowing her euthanasia.

Finally, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) ruled this week in Noelia Castillo's favour, and her death was eventually confirmed late on Thursday.

In a TV interview this week, she said nobody in her family had supported her decision to die by euthanasia, and her father "hasn't respected my decision and never will".

"I want to go in peace now and stop suffering," she told Antena 3 TV the day before she died.

Critics Call Her Death A Failure Of The State

"For a girl who obviously has had a very tough life, which we all regret, the only thing that could be offered to her by the healthcare system is death," said José María Fernández, of Christian Lawyers.

The opposition conservative People's Party (PP), which voted against a 2021 euthanasia law, had a similar response.

Several senior Catholic leaders in Spain have sharply criticised the euthanasia of 25-year-old Noelia Castillo, calling it a reflection of societal failure and raising concerns over the country’s right-to-die law.“We have all failed as a society,” Jose Mazuelos Perez, Bishop of the Canary Islands, was quoted as saying by EuroNews.

In a joint statement, church leaders said the case reflected “an accumulation of personal suffering and institutional shortcomings”.