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Health confirms increase in cases of influenza
Weeks before, private sector doctors warned of an increase in respiratory diseases and other febrile illnesses such as dengue
By Abigail Parada | Jun 21, 2023 - 21:59
After several weeks of warning by medical specialists in the private sector due to a notable increase in cases of respiratory diseases, the Ministry of Health (Minsal) has confirmed an increase in cases of type B influenza, as well as a rise in acute respiratory infections (ARIS).
Through a morning interview, Minister Francisco Alabí explained that "most of the consultations are for acute respiratory infections, but what worries us the most is being in a situation of pneumonia and as I could see (epidemiological bulletin) it has I have been tracing from a security zone to a success zone. This allows us to realize that the number is consolidated within the lowest parameters," said the official, last Monday, June 19.
The data published by Salud, with records from January to May 20, record 17,423 cases of acute respiratory infections. After that date and until yesterday, Wednesday at noon, there are no public data on the behavior of diseases (epidemiological bulletin) on the website of the Ministry of Health.
These measurements place the behavior of the disease in the security zone and with an upward trend, threatening to reach the alarm zone.
Minister Alabí declared, on television, that the IRAS are “the main consultation in the health system; when you have a cough, a cold, or discomfort in the pharynx, we generally go to consult the Health unit and these are the data that the graph shows”; In addition, he related the increase in respiratory infections with the beginning of the rainy season.
"Influenza vaccination campaigns should be focused before the period of illness"
Manuel López Ramos, pulmonologist
Last Tuesday, pulmonologist Manuel López Ramos expressed his concern because consultations in the private sector have increased. “We are seeing the influx of patients with other types of viral infections that are causing these increases in cases,” he declared in the morning interview with Telecorporación Salvadoreña.
According to the expert, within private clinics "this increase in cases is mainly influenza and within influenza the majority that is detected with tests is influenza type B2," he added.
This is caused by a bacterium and most cases present a picture of fever with chills, cough, runny nose, sore throat and muscle pain in a period of 7 to 10 days.
The common denominator among most of the patients who come to consult is that “they have small children and have frequently had respiratory infections. That is what we have been observing in recent weeks,” explained López Ramos.
Experts are most alarmed by the cases of families affected for several weeks.
“We see people who have spent more than a month since their entire family has not left the infection picture; They are consulting one, because they do not improve or because after two weeks they return with the disease, ”said López Ramos.
1 - 4
YEARS
They are the patients with the highest frequency of respiratory diseases, treated in the public health system, according to official reports.
He added that influenza B, with the Victoria lineage, is the one that has been circulating the most in Central America.
Unidentified virus
Another of the situations denounced by infectious disease doctors is that in recent days they have treated patients to whom the tests applied do not indicate a specific disease. This "unidentified virus" is present in patients with flu-like symptoms.
In this regard, the Minister of Health has expressed that they are already "collecting samples throughout the territory, the important thing is to capture samples of respiratory problems and all these problems are put on respiratory panels to give us the detection of what is the respiratory problem that is happening from a non-sub typifiable influenza”. And he added "that it could respond to avian influenza", although he stressed that to date no avian cases had been registered.
The specialist in infectious diseases, Iván Solano Leiva, called on the population to remain calm because it is not a new disease and that flu viruses such as adenovirus, rhinovirus and the most widely circulated are currently circulating. It is influenza type A and B.
"We have been saying this for more than five weeks that all those viruses with outbreaks in schools, universities and workplaces where many people have the flu and many of them are due to influenza," he said.
A situation that the specialist sees with concern is that to date "an influenza vaccination campaign has not begun despite the fact that it is a vaccine that is in the program", but the doctor points out that it is currently not available throughout the health system.
Solano expressed the need for vaccination in risk groups between children under five years of age and older adults, but people with chronic diseases should also be taken into account because they are more prone to developing pneumonia.
For the infectologist, the health system does "very little screening of samples because they do not have enough" in the Health units. This situation adds to the underreporting of diseases that are overwhelming the population.
https://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/nacional/salud-confirma-incremento-casos-influenza/1070151/2023/
Health confirms increase in cases of influenza
Weeks before, private sector doctors warned of an increase in respiratory diseases and other febrile illnesses such as dengue
By Abigail Parada | Jun 21, 2023 - 21:59
After several weeks of warning by medical specialists in the private sector due to a notable increase in cases of respiratory diseases, the Ministry of Health (Minsal) has confirmed an increase in cases of type B influenza, as well as a rise in acute respiratory infections (ARIS).
Through a morning interview, Minister Francisco Alabí explained that "most of the consultations are for acute respiratory infections, but what worries us the most is being in a situation of pneumonia and as I could see (epidemiological bulletin) it has I have been tracing from a security zone to a success zone. This allows us to realize that the number is consolidated within the lowest parameters," said the official, last Monday, June 19.
The data published by Salud, with records from January to May 20, record 17,423 cases of acute respiratory infections. After that date and until yesterday, Wednesday at noon, there are no public data on the behavior of diseases (epidemiological bulletin) on the website of the Ministry of Health.
These measurements place the behavior of the disease in the security zone and with an upward trend, threatening to reach the alarm zone.
Minister Alabí declared, on television, that the IRAS are “the main consultation in the health system; when you have a cough, a cold, or discomfort in the pharynx, we generally go to consult the Health unit and these are the data that the graph shows”; In addition, he related the increase in respiratory infections with the beginning of the rainy season.
"Influenza vaccination campaigns should be focused before the period of illness"
Manuel López Ramos, pulmonologist
Last Tuesday, pulmonologist Manuel López Ramos expressed his concern because consultations in the private sector have increased. “We are seeing the influx of patients with other types of viral infections that are causing these increases in cases,” he declared in the morning interview with Telecorporación Salvadoreña.
According to the expert, within private clinics "this increase in cases is mainly influenza and within influenza the majority that is detected with tests is influenza type B2," he added.
This is caused by a bacterium and most cases present a picture of fever with chills, cough, runny nose, sore throat and muscle pain in a period of 7 to 10 days.
The common denominator among most of the patients who come to consult is that “they have small children and have frequently had respiratory infections. That is what we have been observing in recent weeks,” explained López Ramos.
Experts are most alarmed by the cases of families affected for several weeks.
“We see people who have spent more than a month since their entire family has not left the infection picture; They are consulting one, because they do not improve or because after two weeks they return with the disease, ”said López Ramos.
1 - 4
YEARS
They are the patients with the highest frequency of respiratory diseases, treated in the public health system, according to official reports.
He added that influenza B, with the Victoria lineage, is the one that has been circulating the most in Central America.
Unidentified virus
Another of the situations denounced by infectious disease doctors is that in recent days they have treated patients to whom the tests applied do not indicate a specific disease. This "unidentified virus" is present in patients with flu-like symptoms.
In this regard, the Minister of Health has expressed that they are already "collecting samples throughout the territory, the important thing is to capture samples of respiratory problems and all these problems are put on respiratory panels to give us the detection of what is the respiratory problem that is happening from a non-sub typifiable influenza”. And he added "that it could respond to avian influenza", although he stressed that to date no avian cases had been registered.
The specialist in infectious diseases, Iván Solano Leiva, called on the population to remain calm because it is not a new disease and that flu viruses such as adenovirus, rhinovirus and the most widely circulated are currently circulating. It is influenza type A and B.
"We have been saying this for more than five weeks that all those viruses with outbreaks in schools, universities and workplaces where many people have the flu and many of them are due to influenza," he said.
A situation that the specialist sees with concern is that to date "an influenza vaccination campaign has not begun despite the fact that it is a vaccine that is in the program", but the doctor points out that it is currently not available throughout the health system.
Solano expressed the need for vaccination in risk groups between children under five years of age and older adults, but people with chronic diseases should also be taken into account because they are more prone to developing pneumonia.
For the infectologist, the health system does "very little screening of samples because they do not have enough" in the Health units. This situation adds to the underreporting of diseases that are overwhelming the population.
https://www.elsalvador.com/noticias/nacional/salud-confirma-incremento-casos-influenza/1070151/2023/