Thursday, January 4, 2024, 01:17
Coughs, sneezing, nasal congestion, sore throat, high fever, breathing difficulties… the emergencies of health centers and hospitals these days receive a trickle of patients hit by the respiratory virus epidemic that sweeps from north to south. south of the country: flu (especially influenza A), covid and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which mainly affects babies.
In just two weeks, and according to the latest data published by the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network of the Carlos III Institute, cases of respiratory infection registered in Primary Care have skyrocketed by 72%. They have gone from 526 per 100,000 inhabitants to 916, and everything indicates that they will continue to rise since the report does not yet include data for the last week of the year with the Christmas and New Year's Eve celebrations, not counting the crowds of the Three Kings Parade.
TO PREVENT
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Face mask
The mask stopped being mandatory last July in health centers with some exceptions, but now doctors advise that we use them again if we have any respiratory symptoms. -
Handwashing
You have to wash your hands well and “several times a day” because they carry germs. Without forgetting to ventilate the rooms when people have accumulated. -
Vaccination
It is recommended for those over 60 years of age, children under 5 years of age and people with risk pathologies.
Infections will peak between the second and third week of January, the Society of General and Family Practitioners (SEMG) predicts. The flu epidemic tests the seams of the health system which, for the moment, is functioning at the expense of overflowing emergencies and work overload for doctors and nurses, aggravated by vacations for some staff. There are patients who enter the office thinking they have a cold and leave with a diagnosis of Covid after taking the antigen test right there. Flu, covid and cold are difficult to distinguish. When covid is low intensity it is more like a cold, with congestion and body discomfort, but generally with a low fever. And yet, you can also have flu symptoms that are characterized by high fever and general body pain that is sometimes difficult to distinguish from covid, which is why you have to do the antigen test. Whether it's flu or covid, the treatment is the same: antipyretics, pain relievers, anti-inflammatories, drinking plenty of water and preventive measures. Among these, doctors recommend the use of a mask if a person begins to have a cold so as not to catch any more infections and not to transmit the virus.
Experts call for vaccination after verifying that this fall-winter the rate has decreased.
Higher incidence in the Northwest and among children from zero to four years old
Area IV of the Northwest is currently the area with the greatest increase in the number of influenza A patients, while the incidence weighs most heavily on children from 0 to 4 years old. In the Region, income has increased during Christmas due to care for elderly patients or those with previous pathologies. The impact of respiratory infections continues to grow, after gatherings between friends and families for the holidays. The records of Primary Care services indicate that influenza A left 142% more cases treated in the last week of 2023. And hospital emergencies are saturated by the arrival of patients with pathologies corresponding to respiratory viruses.
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