Minister of Health and Medical Association President Meet to Analyze 2023 Winter Campaign and Increased Respiratory Virus Circulation

The Minister of Health, Ximena Aguileratogether with the Undersecretary of Public Health, Andrea Albagli, and the Undersecretary of Assistance Networks, Fernando Araos, met with the President of the Medical Association, Patricio Mezato analyze the circulation of respiratory viruses and the measures adopted within the framework of the 2023 Winter Campaign.

After the request, the Secretary of State acknowledged that “we have been busy and worried about respiratory virus infections. We have been seeing in recent weeks a high number of cases of respiratory syncytial virus with severe symptoms in young children.”

“The situation is not homogeneous throughout the country, There are regions that have presented an early increase in the circulation of respiratory viruses, such as Temuco and Concepción, and now in the Metropolitan region we are seeing an increase in cases and, therefore, a higher level of saturation of care beds,” he added.

Along these lines, Aguilera asserted that “in addition to permanent surveillance and control, The Ministry has provided special resources to expand the capacity of beds with conversion of complexity beds, in order to expand the quotas in the pediatric area and also the critical bed management unit”.

“Indeed, there is a situation that is happening to the increase in the number of cases, in Temuco it seems to have already reached the peakNot yet in Concepción. In the northern regions this is a calmer situation, in Valparaíso there has also been more activity,” he added.
The head of the Minsal pointed out that “the recommendations that we have done have to do with reinforcing the communication campaign, which is very important for the preventionseparating what is the campaign for adults and for children”.
“In the case of children, reinforce that they remain in a condition of greater isolation, especially infants, that they not be taken to crowded places, which is where there is the greatest circulation, and again recommend the use of masks in crowded places to reduce contagion,” he said.

He also assured that the experts “also recommended that the health authorities and the seremis focus on establishments such as nurseries and gardens that could have transmission of respiratory virusesthat the outbreaks be investigated and see what measures can be taken there”.
The minister affirmed that they will focus on “strengthen risk communication with this focus on the issue of children, on interrupting the chain of contagion, because the syncytial virus does not have a vaccine or treatment. What we can do is prevent and we can also prepare the network for the most complex cases.”

“In the case of adults, the situation is not yet so complex but it is expected that next week it will become more complex. Insist that everyone age 65 and older get a flu shot. It’s a well-known vaccine that we’ve used for decades, which reduces hospitalizations for pneumonia and reduces deaths from influenza,” he concluded.