“The peak incidence” of the 2023-2024 flu “was recorded in the last week of the year” just passed. “Whoever today says 'the worst is yet to come' is wrong. What awaits us is the declining phase of the curve. Which means that we will more or less record the second half of the cases of the entire epidemic (which is no small thing, but it's not 'the worst'). Obviously I may be proven wrong by the unforeseeable, but the forecasts based on the trend of recent years suggest what I have said.” He underlines this in a post on Facebook Pier Luigi Lopalco, professor of Hygiene at the University of Salento.
“Swine flu? It's not, cases of A H1N1 strain”
“For journalistic purposes we are talking about 'swine' flu. It is not. Most cases are caused by the A H1N1 strain: very human”, adds Lopalco.
H1N1 “is a strain that emerged in 2009, the year of the last flu pandemic which at the time was called 'swine' because it most likely originated from pig farms between Mexico and the southern states of the USA. The virus contains portions of viruses of swine origin, portions of avian origin and portions of human origin. As always happens with influenza viruses, it is the result of a mixing of different strains. But the strain resulting from the mixing is human”.
“Modest participation in the vaccination campaign, the ministry and the regions underestimated”
“Last year we had already recorded modest participation in the vaccination campaign against influenza. The Ministry of Health and the Regions are both guilty of having underestimated this aspect and not having implemented any corrective action”, he then states to Adnkronos, underlining that “intense flu seasons are nothing new. And this, in particular, was expected, given the low intensity of circulation of flu viruses during the years of the Covid 19 pandemic”.
“A vaccination campaign worthy of the name should have been started well in advance. Late 'patches' such as the vaccination open days were not enough”, he concludes.
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