Influenza began its epidemic phase just before the Christmas holidays, with the incidence rate standing at 66.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants between 16 and 22 December. But as happens every year, after these days of celebration, social gatherings and family reunions, which coincide with the arrival of cold weather, the incidence is expected to increase exponentially and the epidemic peak is expected to be reached in the next two weeks.
Although this year the flu is arriving a little late and is passing the epidemic threshold a few days later than last year, “it will last for the same period of time”, as Elena Esteban, director general of Public Health, explains. “The virus behaves in the same way every year and will circulate for the same number of weeks, so it is expected that this year the epidemic peak will last until the end of January,” she explains.
Flu cases are surging across Europe post-holiday season, hitting children under 15 and adults over 60 the hardest. Hospitals in France and Spain report rising admissions, with influenza B dominant.
It is impacting people of all ages, but children under 15 and the over 60s are suffering the most.
The Balearic health service Salut also explains that during these dates there is some under-diagnosis as a result of the holidays but that once normality returns to health centres and schoolchildren return to the classroom, the real impact of respiratory viruses in the islands this January can be counted.
Esteban recalls that the incidence rate in the Balearics normally shoots up during the last week of December and the first two weeks of January and that there is usually a second epidemic peak during the month of February. “That is why we insist that we are in time to get vaccinated, that the circulation of the virus will increase but we can arrive protected to the second wave,” she says.
The director also confirms that the same strains are circulating as in recent years and that they are the ones included in the vaccine for immunisation this year. She also acknowledges that although they do not have exact data on the number of people who have already been vaccinated on the islands, the figures are a little better than last year and says that there has been a slight increase in the number of doses inoculated this campaign. As for the symptoms, Esteban explains that “fever, malaise, congestion, dry cough and atromyalgia” are also recurrent.
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