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It's A Bio Fire Success Story You'll Never Be Able To
The BIOFIRE System and Your Immune System

The BIOFIRE System offers syndromic testing for infectious diseases, allowing healthcare providers to select the right test the first time. bio-ethanol fireplaces benefit from faster diagnosis and a more specific treatment. Clinicians benefit from improved antibiotic stewardship. Labs gain efficiency and cost savings.

The BioFire FilmArray Pneumonia plus panel (PN panel) examines native sputum, endotracheal aspirate, and bronchoalveolar lavage specimens (including mini-BAL) for 33 clinically relevant pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes, with semiquantitative results in about an hour.

Respiratory

The burning of biomass, such as plants, wood and other organic materials, produces gaseous pollution and fine particles that negatively affect the respiratory system. Climate change may exacerbate the negative effects of forest fires to the health of humans.

In the United States wildfire smoke is linked to hospitalizations due to respiratory diseases such as asthma, COPD, and lung cancer. Furthermore, this type of air pollution is a risk factor for cardiovascular diseases and a significant cause of illness for the most vulnerable population, including people with lower socioeconomic status (SES).

Wildfires have led to unhealthy levels of air pollution in several communities during the COVID-19 epidemic. The public health response has been limited to a communications campaign on symptom management. This knowledge gap is alarming considering the evidence that smoking cigarettes and other sources of poor quality air can cause health problems.

Researchers are currently assessing the best ways to protect public's health during future events of this nature. NIH is funding research into this critical public health problem through the BLUE CORAL study as well as its successor, FIRE CORAL.

For the first time an prospective study will examine the long-term effects of exposure to smoke from wildfires and other sources. FIRE CORAL is recruiting adult participants who are hospitalized for the index episode of COVID-19 who speak English or Spanish and are not pregnant. The FIRE CORAL protocol includes a series of tests in-person that objectively measure the pulmonary function test and lung imaging and functional assessment.

The lungs are especially sensitive to the effects of smoke and other particles because they can trigger or exacerbate chronic respiratory diseases, such as emphysema and COPD and increase the risk of pneumonia. A number of steps can be taken to prevent or reduce the adverse health effects from short-term exposures to smoke, such as abstaining from outdoor activities when it is feasible and wearing the EPA's "N95" mask, which is designed to catch fine particles.

Smoking cigarettes can cause irritation to the eyes and throat, and lead to a runny nose. To minimize symptoms the lungs need to be flushed by drinking lots of water and taking medications which reduce inflammation, such as corticosteroids.

Bloodstream

The bloodstream is your first line of defense against germs that invade your system. Dendritic cells, which are special cells, are like the fire department's call center. they collect the antigens (molecules that trigger an immune response) from invading germs and release proteins to signal other white blood cells to come fight them. Circulating white blood cell counts, differentials and band cells were increased during firefighters' firefighting shifts, compared with levels following strenuous physical exercise without fire-fighting.

Skin

As the wildfires in California produced smoke and ash into the air during winter and fall, dermatologists were concerned about how it might affect the skin of those who were exposed to it. Maria Wei, a graduate student at the University of California, Irvine is researching how extreme pollution from wildfires affects the skin. Her research was published on April 22, 2012 in Scientific Reports.


The research of Wei shows that the temperature of a person's skin changes depending on the length of time that the body is exposed to flames. It can take as long as two hours for a skin to reach its flash point -- the point at which it burns and then turns into a ashy. This is the reason why it's essential to stay away from the campfire or a fire, and why you must wear protective clothing when you go outside during a forest fire or even a hot day.

Forest fires will continue occur, despite the measures taken to prevent the spread of wildfires. Wei believes that as the climate changes cause forests to burn more quickly, the number of people who suffer from wildfires will grow. This means that more people will have to wear hats and long sleeves and thick moisturizers.

It's also worth knowing that atopic dermatitis (itchy skin) that many people suffer from can be exacerbated by wildfire air pollution. The particles in smoke can block pores and cause atopic skin to become worse.

Atopic dermatitis may cause people to be more sensitive to UV light. This can be made worse by smoke from wildfires. This can result in people looking for tanning salons and tannish with less protection.

While a ice and fire facial can help lessen the effects of atopic skin dermatitis, it is not safe for anyone who has an open wound or a rash on their face. People who have active acne should be cautious and if you're breastfeeding or pregnant, it is best to steer clear of this treatment altogether. The IS Clinical Fire & Ice Facial at Novuskin, Las Vegas' most prestigious membership MedSpa, is an intensive result-driven facial that bridges the gap between a gentle facial and a peel, without requiring any downtime. It's designed to resurface the skin, reduce rosacea symptoms, decrease acne scarring, reduce wrinkles, and promote the renewal of cells. This is a great way to give your skin a radiant glow.

Infections

The human body is made up of a complex set of organs and tissues which work together to defend us from infections. Infections can be caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses and parasites that infect healthy cells, causing them to multiply in uncontrolled ways. If this occurs your immune system can respond with symptoms of illness. These symptoms could range from a runny nose to an upset stomach and can also include a fever, swollen lymph glands or an scratch. Your symptoms can be affected by the type of infection, its location and even your temperature.

Infections can spread in different ways, but they are most often spread via droplets of air that remain after a sniff or cough. Bacterial diseases like tuberculosis, strep throat, meningococcal diseases and Legionnaires' disease are spread in this manner, as do certain viral infections such as the common cold and influenza. Certain bacterial infections like skin infections or sexually transmitted diseases (STIs) like gonorrhea or chlamydia are spread by direct contact with infected mucous or tissue surfaces, or indirectly through contaminated surfaces. Certain infections caused by bacteria are transmitted by insects like ticks, fleas, or mosquitoes.

Some parasites and viruses are small enough to enter your bloodstream and infect your cells, which leads to serious illnesses such as the common cold and AIDS. Fungi are responsible for a myriad of skin conditions, like ringworm and athlete's foot. Some infect the lungs or nervous system, such as the rabies virus.

The BioFire PN Panel utilizes our innovative FilmArray technology to analyze a comprehensive list of pathogens that are involved in upper respiratory infections in sputum or samples of bronchoalveolar fluid. The kit includes the reagent pouch which stores all the necessary chemistry to perform reverse transcription PCR, nested multiplex PCR and detection on a single machine. It's a simple solution to aid clinicians in identifying and treat patients with a variety of respiratory symptoms. The test has been granted an Emergency Use Authorization. It is available in bioMerieux CLIA medium and high-complex laboratories.