Spanish flu cases increased again on Christmas and New Year’s Eve, health department advises, but ‘trends to level off’

The flu is spreading again this week, with infections evident in the last week of 2023 (from Christmas dinner to New Year’s Eve).The weekly SiVIRA report prepared by the Carlos III Health Institute notes an increase in influenza and COVID-19 cases, but at the same time Point out “a trend towards stabilization” in infection. Also on Thursday, the Spanish Society of Family and Community Medicine (semFYC) proposed reinstating the mandatory wearing of masks in health centers, but the Ministry of Health has ruled out this proposal. database

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Following the latest data, the global incidence of acute respiratory tract infections (ARIs) in primary care increased to 952.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants last week, almost Thirty points more than last week, the rate was set at 921.7 cases at that time. Infants under one year old were the most infected age group (4,154.7 cases/100,000 hours), followed by children aged 1 to 4 years. About the flu, Influenza primary care rate 438.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. The Ministry of Health report noted that the incidence of influenza syndrome continues to increase, while the incidence of bronchiolitis has decreased.

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The data shows positive symptoms, with In some communities, the rate has begun to decline

, an indicator that predicts stabilization and subsequent decline in infections. Andalusia, Canary Islands and Catalonia are some of them. But Spain’s interior has seen sharp increases, so the overall data has worsened.

Percentage of positive samples Flu rises to 46%, compared with 27% of the total the previous week. Given that the covid-19 positivity rate has dropped to 10.8% compared to 15.4% the previous week, most respiratory illnesses correspond to this virus. However, regarding the hospitalization rate for covid-19, the figure has increased slightly from 2.4 to 3.5 per 100,000 inhabitants.

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The incidence of influenza in primary care continues to increase, with clear upward trends across all age groups. Hospitalization rate in last week of year (52nd) There have been 9.5 cases (5.9 cases the previous week), this number has not stopped growing for nine consecutive weeks. By age group, the highest hospitalization rate in Week 52 was among adults aged 80 or older (62 cases per 100,000 residents).

In terms of the serious hospital infection rate (SARI), global cases increased to 28.7, an increase of 7 percentage points from the previous week. Regarding respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), infection rates show a decrease in the number of people infected.