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Flu hospitalizations .- More than a thousand serious flu so far this season AND AT LEAST 106 DEAD
MADRID, 18 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) -
Since the beginning of the 2010-2011 influenza season last October have been reported in Spain a total of 1,059 hospitalized due to severe cases of the virus, 89 percent infected with H1N1 pandemic virus, according to the Instituto Carlos III, Ministry of Science and Innovation.
According to data collected by the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network of Carlos III in its latest newsletter, the virus has caused more hospitalizations in men (57% of total), while more than half of the cases occurred in people aged 15 and 64.
However, 17 percent of this revenue came in below 15 years while there have also been 42 serious cases in pregnant women, 76 percent of more than 24 weeks gestation.
With the information available at this time, we also see that 75 percent of these patients had any risk factors for flu complications, which led to that 76 percent develop pneumonia.
Other aggravations in these cases were bacterial coinfection (25%), acute respiratory distress syndrome (30%) and multiorgan failure (10%). In addition, 41 percent of the cases needed to be admitted to the Intensive Care Unit (ICU).
Although many patients were included in the groups where vaccination is recommended (chronic diseases, pregnancy, obesity, over 60 years), previous vaccination rate was very low, barely 20 percent.
Furthermore, of the 944 cases in which evolution is known, a total of 106 have died in twelve, two of them children under 4 years.
In these cases, the majority (88%) were infected with H1N1 virus, 0.9 percent of influenza B virus and 11 percent of influenza A virus subtyping not.
Similarly, cases died in the information available, 87 percent had risk factors for influenza complications, but up to 88 percent had not received the flu vaccine.
TARGET RATE CONTINUES TO FALL
As regards the last week for which data are available, the National Surveillance Network continues to have a "gradual decline" since early January, reached the peak of the epidemic wave of this season with 239.04 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
During the week of 6 to 12 February, the reported incidence of flu drops to 152.58 per 100,000 inhabitants, with a decrease in incidence rates in all age groups under 65.
Thus, the community hardest hit by the virus returns to Canary (281.5 per 100,000 population), followed by Catalonia (270.4), Melilla (234.2), Extremadura (226.3), Aragon (204 , 2), Castilla-La Mancha (196.1), Texas (184.8) and Asturias (167.6).
Already below the national averages Cantabria (133.6), Basque (129.8), Valencia (116.6), Baleares (110.3), La Rioja (105.5), Castilla y Le?n (96.2), Ceuta (91.5), Comunidad de Madrid (89.2) and Navarre (82.2), while Galicia and Murcia data are not specified.
In addition, this past week the percentage of detections of influenza B virus than for the first time this season the virus type A, maintaining a mixed flow pattern B and A/H1N1 virus. Viral detection rate decreases to 36 percent from that in the first week of the year was a peak of 67 percent.