An update on the situation in Europe shows that the old continent is facing a threat of a “twindemic”, as the flu is growing at a higher rate than expected in winter.
But a second virus is just around the corner – seasonal flu and the potential overlap of the two were called “Twindemic”
What is “twindemic” and how should you prepare?
The annual flu season has already begun and can be extended to April or May. Regardless of whether the COVID-19 pandemic remains in a prolonged wave, health officials warn of the second risk, equally worrying, is seasonal flu which may make patients more susceptible to the effects of the disease COVID-19.
For this reason, health experts are worried that Europe will have to face a “double pandemic” this year, after last year, due to restrictions due to COVID-19, I got rid of this. The virus has now returned and could cause health problems in European countries.
Why did the seasonal flu go away last winter?
Quarantines, masks and social distance, which became the norm in Europe during the COVID-19 pandemic, they eliminated the flu last winter, temporarily removing the virus that kills about 650,000 people a year globally, according to European Union figures.
But that has changed now that countries are taking less stringent measures to fight COVID-19 because of the spread of vaccination around the world.
The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reported this month that, since mid-December, influenza viruses have spread in Europe at a faster rate than expected. In December, the number of flu cases in European intensive care units (ICUs) steadily rose to 43 in the last week of the year, according to the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization.
It is well below the pre-pandemic level – weekly cases of influenza in intensive care units peaked at over 400 at the same time in 2018, for example.
The flu season could be unusually long
The return of the virus could be the beginning of a season Flu Unusually long, which could extend into the summer, CDC chief expert Pacey Bentinen told Reuters. “If we start lifting all measures, my big concern about the flu is that, given that we have been through a long period of lack of circulation among the European population, we will move away from the normal seasonal patterns,” he said. .
He said removing the restrictive measures in the spring could prolong the spread of the flu beyond the natural end of the European season in May.
A ‘double pandemic’ could put undue pressure on already overburdened health systems
In France, for example, three regions – including the Paris region – are facing an flu epidemic, according to data released by the French Ministry of Health last week. Others are in a pre-epidemic phase.
France has so far reported 72 severe flu cases this season, with six deaths. Bentenen said it was too early to make a definitive assessment of influenza vaccines, as more patients were needed for realistic tests. But laboratory tests show that the vaccines available this year “will not be optimal” against H3, he writes Capital.
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