Influenza stabilizing, but infections among children rising

Acute respiratory infections in primary care are showing “signs of stabilization”. This is the main conclusion of the latest report from the surveillance system, which shows that there were 926.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants worldwide in the second week of this year. The data is similar to the previous seven days, but this time the data shows a “slight decrease” for young adults aged 15 to 64, and a “slight increase” for minors aged 1 to 14.

To be precise, according to the latest data, a week after returning to school after the Christmas holidays, the highest incidence of acute respiratory infections is among children under one year old, with 3951.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, with the highest incidence among children aged one and four years. , with 1,819.5 cases.

After last week’s decline, the behavior of viruses, primarily influenza viruses, suggests there will be no new peaks. In fact, from January 8 to 14, the incidence of influenza syndrome fell for the second consecutive week and the incidence of bronchiolitis fell for the fifth consecutive week, while covid-19 showed fluctuations and RSV infection in children under one year old increased despite hospitalization. Furthermore, the decline in influenza incidence in primary care has been consolidated in all autonomous regions, forcing health centers to introduce measures such as the mandatory wearing of masks, after influenza intensity reached the peak of previous seasons.

Despite widespread declines in influenza incidence, not all communities have successfully reversed the trend in acute respiratory infections. After two weeks of decline, house prices are rising again in Andalusia, with Aragon, the Balearic Islands, the Canary Islands, Extremadura, Murcia, Navarra, Bascardi and Hugo Housing prices in Da have also increased.

Asturias, Cantabria, Castile-La Mancha, Valencia, Galicia and Madrid have been canceled, according to the Ministry of Health issued last week the mandatory quarantine in health centers and With the mask mandate in hospitals, those regions will be able to decide whether to recommend it because it has been declining for two weeks in a row.

For the first time since the beginning of the influenza epidemic, the sentinel system has detected a decrease in the global hospitalization rate for severe acute respiratory infection, from 35.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the previous week to 28.4. Within this parameter, the most affected group are the elderly over 80 years old with 221.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by infants under one year old with 27.6 cases.