Carlos Rubio
Madrid, February 19 (EFE) – The wave of influenza epidemics continues to slow down, X-rays show its strong impact this season, hospitalization indicators quadrupled during the peak of infections compared with the previous year, and deaths admitted The rate has reached 6.6%, mainly disadvantaged groups.
Weekly reports from the acute respiratory infection surveillance system (SiVIRA) Statistics from the Carlos III Health Institute show every week that influenza, which coexists with covid-19 and bronchiolitis, has a greater impact this season than in the last years of the pandemic.
Experts consulted by EFE initially believe that this is not due to epidemiological reasons, but due to the loss of population immunity, low vaccination rates and “possible” vaccine escapes from virus strains.
They also clarified that the respiratory infection season has not yet reached its final equilibrium, bearing in mind that the epidemiological situation has changed in recent years since the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.
Several factors come into play when interpreting the data on the impact of influenza, which some experts and epidemiologists believe is in line with expectations and reiterate that we must continue to rely on the lessons of the pandemic, primarily when it comes to vaccinations and masks every year and measures to mitigate the impact of the virus.
The flu’s fatality rate, measured as the proportion of hospitalized patients who die in a given period, has since been three times higher (6.6 percent), according to estimates by medical associations such as the Spanish Medical Association. Emergencies and emergencies (SEMES) typically fluctuate within a 2% or 3% range.
But the current outlook is positive, as incomes have normalized from a peak of 16 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in early January to 0.8 currently, while the number of infections continues to fall.
Other preliminary data indicating the severe impact of the flu include the Carlos III Health Institute’s daily all-cause mortality (MoMo) records, which indicate an estimated “more than 5,672 deaths from all causes” at the peak of the epidemic wave.
These data must be analyzed and broken down by health authorities to assess the season of respiratory infections and, as announced by Minister Monica García, these data will serve the Ministry of Health in order to immediately develop emergency plans with the autonomous communities. Respiratory viruses take over entire health systems every winter.
But as the world body warned weeks ago, the scourge of influenza alongside covid-19 and bronchiolitis, what some experts call “triademia,” is not a problem unique to Spain but to the rest of the continent . The World Health Organization (WHO) faces the overload of healthcare systems in various countries and the impact of these viruses on the population.
Calculation of flu’s impact outlined, based on World Health Organization estimates, after hospitalizations in the first two weeks of January In the European region (consisting of 53 countries, including Russia and several former Soviet republics), the number of intensive care units increased by 58% and the number of intensive care units increased by 21%.
But the World Health Organization isn’t just worried about the flu, warning that there is less information on the true incidence of covid-19 because many countries have folded their plans for the disease into strategies targeting influenza viruses. And, although it normalizes positive symptoms, it reduces the visibility of the disease.
The World Health Organization has confirmed through wastewater reports that in some cases the impact of covid-19 could be nearly 20 times greater than official data from some European countries suggests.
Spain’s official Covid-19 data shows that the incidence rate detected in primary care continues to fall below 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, with hospitals overall recording 0.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, although this for citizens over the age of 65 The ratio is as high as 5 times.
“In terms of severity, since the start of the quarter, 32.2% of cases hospitalized with covid-19 have developed pneumonia, 3.5% have been admitted to ICU, and 8.3% have died, which is consistent with previous quarters,” the report said. are similar in scope.” Carlos III Health Institute.Effie
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