Source:
https://correiodecarajas.com.br/par...-mil-internacoes-por-sindromes-respiratorias/
Pará has 154 confirmed cases of H3N2 and almost a thousand hospitalizations for respiratory syndromes
Writing by Writing
- January 6, 2022
In 2021, the state had recorded 248 deaths from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Period until March is considered seasonal for flu cases.
Pará has 154 confirmed cases of H3N2 so far, according to information from the State Department of Health (Sespa) released this Thursday (6). The agency explains that the analysis of cases is done on a sample basis, not a diagnosis, but an assessment of the weekly epidemiological scenario. Also according to Sespa, no cases of H1N1 were registered in 2021 and in the first days of 2022.
The Municipal Health Department of Belém gave the first alert about an outbreak of flu in the capital on December 15, 2021, when it found that the health units were overcrowded.
Sespa later confirmed the H3N2 outbreak, as there was no record of the virus circulating in the state, and with the occurrence of a single case, according to the Epidemiological Surveillance, it became considered an outbreak.
After the first record of double infection by the flu and Covid-19 viruses in Brazil, attention in Pará was redoubled, since the period from November to March are considered seasonal for cases of flu. According to Sespa, for the time being there are no records of double infection in Pará.
Respiratory syndrome cases and deaths
Between November and December 2021 alone, approximately one thousand hospitalizations related to severe acute respiratory syndromes were observed in Pará.
In 2021, Pará recorded 248 deaths from Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), with three deaths in November and December.
In the city of Cametá, northeast of Pará, there are cases being investigated, but the Health Department did not say how many, only that so far there are four suspected cases of febrile hemorrhagic disease that are under laboratory and epidemiological investigation. There is no confirmation that it is H3N2 or Covid-19.
Pharmacy chains run out of flu drugs
The Regional Pharmacy Council (CRF-PA) confirmed that the supply of some items related to the treatment of flu and colds, such as anti-flu, syrups, vitamins and supplements, “is intermittent, with sporadic shortages in some pharmacy chains and other health establishments. , both in Belém and in other cities”. The problem was discovered in December.
The director of the CRF, Simone Sena, says that it is a worrying scenario, but that there are other alternatives in the absence of a particular drug.
“There are alternatives and different brands of the same active ingredient, so sometimes the lack of a specific brand does not directly interfere with the lack of a compound that helps in the treatment”, she says.
She does not believe that there will be a shortage of medicine on the market. “Precisely because of the variety of pharmaceutical manufacturers that produce the same type of drug, including the option of generics”.
Simone also warns about self-medication care, seeking information from a doctor or pharmacist:
“It is essential that the population, when looking for a drug in pharmacies, talk to the pharmacist, who is the health professional trained to provide all information about treatments for flu, colds and other mild-symptom diseases, as well as advise on treatments. alternatives in the absence of any specific medication. It is the pharmacist who will guide the patient about the conscious use of this medicine, avoiding unbridled and irrational use”.
Pará awaits arrival of new flu vaccines
This week, the City Hall of Belém reported that, after the high demand for flu vaccines, the stock of immunizations is “practically zero”.
Both the capital and the State requested more immunizations from the Ministry of Health, but there is still no forecast of the arrival of new vaccines. Vaccination against Covid-19 follows normally.
In 2021, Pará received 2,660,833 doses of immunizing agent against Influenza, within the annual campaign against influenza, which has priority groups for vaccination.
According to Sespa, with the low demand for the vaccine, it was recommended to offer it to the population outside the target audience until stocks last. In Belém, more than 500 thousand people were vaccinated, according to data from the Municipal Health Department.
(Source: G1)
. Materials were collected for analysis in the state capital.