Les feux de forêt canadiens provoquent des problèmes de santé dans le Minnesota
MINNEAPOLIS – 18 avril 2024 – La fumée des feux de forêt en provenance du Canada a atteint le Minnesota cette semaine, affectant la santé de nombreux habitants. Les autorités sanitaires rapportent une augmentation des consultations médicales, les symptômes allant de simples maux de gorge à des problèmes respiratoires et cardiaques, en particulier dans les hôpitaux du nord-ouest de l’État.L’agence de contrôle de la pollution de Minneapolis qualifie cet événement d’inédit. Pour en savoir plus sur les conseils et les mesures à prendre …
Canadian wildfire smoke has become so intense that even young, healthy Minnesotans are experiencing symptoms similar to allergies.
“This morning I woke up and I was just like, oh, I have COVID,” said Cameron Dailey-Ruddy, 34, of Minneapolis.
He took two COVID tests Tuesday morning — both negative — and everyone at his staff meeting reported sore throats and headaches. He realized the unhealthy air spanning Minnesota made him sick: the equivalent, he said, of “breathing in exhaust fumes.”
“It’s so hard to shift your mindset … It should be treated like a thunderstorm or a tornado and shelter in place,” he said, instead of thinking “it tastes weird outside” and going about life as normal.
The Minneapolis Pollution Control Agency said the plume of wildfire smoke that hit the state this week is unprecedented in its timing and severity.
“This is the type of wildfire intensity that you would expect probably in July or August,” said David Brown, air quality meteorologist with the MPCA. “It’s possible that some people could still be getting caught off guard this early.”
A sign on Interstate 35W in Burnsville warns motorists of poor air quality. (Elizabeth Flores/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Some hospitals in Minnesota are seeing more patients experiencing complications from the smoke, starting in the northwestern part of the state and moving south.
The ER at Sanford Bemidji Medical Center saw an increase Sunday and Monday in “respiratory and cardiac visits due to effects of the smoke,” said Jillian Johnson, spokesperson for Sanford Health of Northern Minnesota.
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