“We are detecting an increase in cases of flu-like syndromes that can be traced back to Covid”. But “not all patients want to undergo the swab, so it becomes very difficult for us” family doctors “to make the differential diagnosis. People still remember when they were tested and had to lock themselves in isolation at home, they do not consider or have not understood that now with the necessary precautions you can go out, so it becomes very difficult. But there are flu-like forms and there are more than what we usually see this season in our practices”. Anna Pozzi, provincial secretary of the Italian Federation of General Practitioners (Fimmg) Milan, outlined the picture to Adnkronos Salute, confirming the growing influx of patients with symptoms typical of respiratory infections in the Lombardy metropolis’ primary care clinics, in line with what also emerges from the latest Covid bulletin, which sees Lombardy in the lead for new infections recorded.
Among those who undergo the swab, Pozzi explains, “there are positives, I would say almost 80% – he estimates based on his experience as a family doctor – Without creating any alarmism”, he points out, “because in any case the forms are rather mild and therefore can be well controlled”. Those affected are a bit “of all age groups. And it is clear that on the elderly patient it is very important to have the Covid swab. This is because in people with chronic conditions, who are then the most delicate, we have the possibility of administering an antiviral”.
And if in Lazio, where there has also been an increase in infections, the Fimmg has sent an alert to the family doctors of its network with the measures to be taken, “not least – we read in a note – that of activating, in the practices where they have been relaxed, the protective measures such as masks and distancing” to avoid contagion of fragile people, in Milan, explains Pozzi, “as a provincial Fimmg we are seeing the trend of the epidemic and if by hearing from more colleagues the numbers are confirmed. At that point we will also send guidelines to our members. The problem is always for fragile people, because they can develop complications”.
Experts point out that this wave of summer Covid cases may be supported in particular by KP.3, the most recent variant of Sars-CoV-2, already prevalent in the USA. The symptoms? “The ones we are seeing these days are the classic ones” of the parainfluenza syndrome, “such as fever, joint pain, cold, sore throat, general malaise. There are several cases – concludes the secretary of Fimmg Milan – but the difficulty, I repeat, is doing the swabs and without it it becomes difficult to express reliable numbers. Then there are also those who do the test at home and simply do not tell their doctor. We are available to everyone, to evaluate the situation, in case they communicate a positive case to us, and how it evolves”.
At the moment, however, “the situation is calm, in the sense that, as far as I know, we have not registered an increase in hospital admissions. What is quite strange” for the season “is the high influx of people with flu-like symptoms. Because usually in this period you don’t see them”. Will we perhaps have to get used to Covid in the summer? “I think so”, Pozzi comments, specifying that “even today we also see some pneumonia, but situations” of this type “are much rarer and in any case manageable at home”.
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