United Arab Emirates: Strict Covid Protocol Quietly Fights Other Viruses-News

According to United Arab Emirates medical experts, strict adherence to the Covid-19 protocol has resulted in one positive spin-off. This means that the number of cases of influenza has decreased significantly.

Healthcare professionals and researchers have noticed a sudden decline in influenza cases, even though SARS COV 2 has dominated all headlines since the Covid-19 pandemic last year.

Dr. Shakeel Ahmed Shah, Ph.D., Aster Clinics General Practitioner at Al Qusais, said: Before the pandemic, about 10% of my patients had the flu, but now it has dropped to 2%. The United Kingdom and the United States have reported similar trends. “

Dr. Rajesh Kumar Gupta, Ph.D., Ph.D., Sharjah’s Basil Specialty Hospital, said: None of the cases reported in the last few months at the OPD Clinic have been reported at the OPD Clinic because of the negative influenza A and B swab tests in mildly suspected cases. “

So what is the cause of the sudden decrease in influenza cases?

Experts say strict adherence to the Covid protocol is a major cause of the decline in influenza cases. “Most professionals believe that in addition to distance learning and telecommuting, masks and social distance helped stop the spread of the flu virus,” said Dr. Ahmed Abdelhameed, a physician at Medcare Hospital. ..

Dr. Burjuman, Reyaz Ahmed Specialist Internal Medicine Prime Center, also said that focusing on the Covid protocol prevented influenza transmission. “The number of cases of influenza has decreased significantly. The main reasons for this are social distance, wearing masks, school closures and hand disinfection. The increase in influenza vaccination last year is also a major factor,” he said. Told.

Given the current situation, all patients with fever are tested for Covid-19 first because of the similar symptoms. “It is very difficult to distinguish between influenza and Covid-19 infections because they both have clinically similar symptoms, so all patients are required to undergo an RTPCR test for Covid-19 infections. “Masu,” said Dr Sanjay Kumar of Zulekha Hospital.

Covid-19 and flu

Covid-19 and the flu virus show symptoms of similar illnesses. They both cause respiratory illness and are transmitted by contact, droplets and vectors. As a result, the same public health measures, such as hand hygiene and good breathing etiquette, are important actions to prevent infection.

Transmission speed is an important difference. Influenza has a shorter median incubation period (time from infection to onset of symptoms) and continuous intervals (time between consecutive cases) than the Covid-19 virus. The serial interval for Covid-19 virus is estimated to be 5-6 days, while the serial interval for influenza virus is 3 days. This means that the flu can spread faster than Covid-19.

In addition, infection during the first 3-5 days of the disease, or potentially presymptomatic infection (virus infection before symptoms appear), is a major contributor to influenza infection. In contrast, we know that some people can shed the Covid-19 virus 24-48 hours before the onset of symptoms, but at this point this does not seem to be the main driver of the infection.

The range of symptoms of the two viruses is similar, but the proportion of severe illness seems to be different. For Covid-19, according to previous data, 80% of infections are mild or asymptomatic, 15% are severe infections, require oxygen, and 5% are serious infections. Yes, ventilation is required. These rates of severe and serious infections are higher than those observed with influenza infections.

Children, pregnant women, the elderly, people with underlying chronic medical conditions, and immunosuppressed people are at greatest risk of severe influenza infection. In the case of COVID-19, our current understanding is that older people and underlying illnesses increase the risk of severe infections.

The mortality rate of Covid-19 seems to be higher than that of influenza, especially seasonal influenza.

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