Home » Health » Influenza Returns Amid Covid-19, Twindemic Ghosts Europe

Influenza Returns Amid Covid-19, Twindemic Ghosts Europe

ILLUSTRATION. People queue for a Covid-19 test in front of a laboratory in Paris in France, January 4, 2022. Influenza is returning to Europe at a faster-than-expected rate, raising concerns about a twindemic. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier.

Source: Reuters | Editor: SS Kurniawan

KONTAN.CO.ID – BRUSSELS. Influenza returned to Europe at a faster-than-expected rate this winter, after nearly disappearing last year, raising concerns about a prolonged twindemic with Covid-19.

The lockdowns, wearing of masks and social distancing that have become the norm in Europe during the Covid-19 pandemic crippled last year’s winter flu, temporarily eradicating a virus that globally kills about 650,000 a year, according to European Union figures.

However, that has now changed as countries in Europe adopt less stringent measures to combat Covid-19 due to widespread vaccination.

Since mid-December last year, the flu virus has been circulating in Europe at higher-than-expected levels, the European Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) reported this month, as quoted by Reuters. Reuters.

Also Read: Lunar Holiday Season, Cities in China are on High Alert for Covid-19

In December, the number of flu cases in European intensive care units (ICUs) rose steadily to a peak of 43 patients in the last week of the year, data from the ECDC and the World Health Organization (WHO) showed.

But that figure is well below pre-pandemic levels, with weekly flu cases in the ICU peaking at more than 400 in the same period in 2018, for example.

Still, the figure is a big increase compared to last year, when there was only one case of flu in the ICU during December, the data showed.

The return of the virus could be the start of an unusually long flu season, which could continue into the summer, the ECDC’s lead expert on influenza Pasi Penttinen told Reuters.

Also Read: European Union: With Omicron, The World Will Move Fast Toward a Scenario Near Endemic




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