“I'm not going to work today. I've been feeling bad for a few days. I was very tired, so I had a fever last night. I was tested for COVID-19 and it was negative. I think I have the flu.” What Fabián R.Fabian feels in the bed of his house in Villa Crespo is similar to the hundreds of Argentines affected by a new influenza or influenza infection that seems to have arrived earlier this year.
Although Ómicron variants of the coronavirus are circulating throughout the country, another virus that usually affects autumn and winter is also affecting more people in the middle of summer.It is the influenza virus (also known as the influenza virus), as warned by an alert from the Ministry of Health a few days ago.
Since 2020, after the start of the coronavirus pandemic, there have been fewer cases of seasonal flu than in the previous year. The official warning stated that “since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, influenza virus activity has remained low in Argentina.” However, since the first week of December until now, we have seen an increase in cases of influenza, mainly influenza A H3N2. In general, seasonal flu cases increase in Argentina between April and October each year. It is not January, February, or March.
Teresa Varela, director of epidemiological surveillance and outbreak control at the Department of Health of the State of Buenos Aires, told Infobae that “the landscape has changed significantly between last summer and the current summer,” said Teresa Varela, director of epidemiological surveillance and outbreak control at the beginning of this year. “The flu season, which usually begins after March, is ahead,” the official said.
“We have identified a rare increase in H3N2 flu cases by this time. This is something that has already happened in countries in regions like Brazil. We have a commitment from the National Ministry of Health that the vaccine will arrive by the end of the month and that we can start vaccinating against the flu, starting with the health personnel and organizations that are most at risk.” “, said Nicolás Kreplak, head of the Department of Health of Buenos Aires.
CABA has also recorded an increase in influenza cases in recent weeks and confirmed that flu vaccination will begin next month because influenza occurs earlier than usual. “Patents have changed, virus behavior has changed.
This year, we found the proportion of patients with respiratory diseases and high fever that are more related to influenza virus, the influenza virus, in February and March.” At a regular press conference last Thursday, the Minister of Health said Fernanciros, Buenos Aires City.
“We imagine that throughout this year everything will return at the pace we are used to, but in fact we have found a certain number of major cases of influenza throughout the year.” He added.
Taking into account the cases of influenza detected this summer according to the age of those affected, the most common were the cases that were initially ranked second in children under 5 years of age and adolescents between 25 and 34 years of age. The flu did not have the same impact throughout the country. The jurisdictions where the largest amount of samples were recorded are the cities of Buenos Aires, Salta, Santa Fe, Tucuman and Buenos Aires.
Influenza, which is a highly contagious respiratory viral disease in most cases, has mild symptoms with symptoms such as fever, cough, nasal congestion, sore throat, head and muscle pain. However, some people may have complications such as shortness of breath and pneumonia that require hospitalization. Two people died from the flu in Argentina in the second week of February.
Why did flu cases increase in mid-summer?
According to Infobae, infectologist Pablo Bonvehí, director of infectology at CEMIC, “The increase in influenza cases is probably explained by several factors. In other South American countries, such as Chile, Peru, Colombia and Brazil, cases with predominantly influenza A H3N2″ subtype have also increased.
This expert, who is a member of the Vaccine Committee of the Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases and the Scientific Committee of the Vaccine Foundation, added: “Currently, it is not normal for the influenza virus to circulate. It was also not normal that the virus did not circulate in 2020 and 2021, when the coronavirus cycle prevailed. Now the subtype influenza A H3N2 has begun to circulate, which has prevailed in the northern hemisphere. Certainly, these changes are related to the fact that there are no more restrictions on traveling abroad. People who have not been in contact with the flu virus in the last two years are more susceptible to infection. There are also more cases of bronchiolitis and those affected by other respiratory viruses.”
Meanwhile, Leda Guzzi, from the Communications Committee of the Argentine Society of Infectious Diseases, explained to Infobae: “During the first two years of the pandemic, large-scale COVID-19 prevention measures such as wearing masks, confinement, distancing, ventilation, etc. have helped reduce transmission of influenza virus and other respiratory viruses worldwide. “However, since the end of last year, after COVID-19 vaccination has been carried out, citizen mobility has become stronger and the circulation of the influenza virus has been restored,” said an infectologist at the Olivos Clinic and the Santa Rosa Hospital. I concluded that.
According to Dr. Guzzi, the warnings of health authorities are related to globalization through travel, which could lead to more cases of influenza A H3N2 in the northern hemisphere and the immediate emergence of the influenza virus in South America. “The important thing is epidemiological and genomic surveillance, and that people who are vaccinated against influenza receive adequate doses, such as children under 2 years of age, over 65 years of age and others with risk factors.” He said.
COVID-19 과의 차이점
Fever, dry cough, sore throat or chest pain, and shortness of breath These are some of the symptoms that may indicate symptoms of COVID-19. However, they are not the only ones, nor are these symptoms inherent in this disease. The most common symptoms of COVID-19 are fever, cough, and fatigue. However, there are many other signs and symptoms.
Both COVID-19 and colds are caused by the virus.COVID-19 is caused by SARS-CoV-2, while colds are mostly caused by rhinovirus. These viruses spread similarly, causing many of the same signs and symptoms.However, there are some differences.
According to Mayo Clinic experts, COVID-19 symptoms usually appear 2 to 14 days after exposure to SARS-CoV-2, but cold symptoms usually appear 1 to 3 days after exposure to the virus that causes the cold.
Unlike COVID-19, colds are often harmless. Most people recover from a cold in 3 to 10 days, but some colds can last up to 2 to 3 weeks.
On the other hand, to differentiate COVID-19 from allergies, among the most common symptoms of this type of condition that is not transmitted from person to person are itching, runny nose, sneezing, coughing, eye irritation.
The main difference between an allergy and a virus is fever. In this sense, body temperature above 38ºC may indicate the presence of the virus.Similarly, a common allergy will not cause a sudden loss of smell and taste, a characteristic symptom of COVID-19.
COVID-19 can also cause shortness of breath or shortness of breath, but seasonal allergies generally do not cause these symptoms unless they have a respiratory disease such as asthma.
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