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In early December, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Union’s World Health Organization (WHO) issued a joint statement expressing concern that the co- Circulating influenza, COVID-19 and RSV (respiratory syncytial virus, the causative agent of viral respiratory infections, can also cause bronchopneumonia, exacerbation of chronic bronchitis) could have a significant impact on health services this winter.

The statement also points out that this situation with the spread of different respiratory pathogens makes it difficult to predict how the incidence will develop in winter. Against this background, headlines about the triple epidemic, or triderm, began to appear in the media.

As told in an interview with Vedomosti, the director of the Influenza Research Institute. AA Smorodintseva Dmitry Lioznov, such a development of events is natural. According to him, this situation is not new, as a large number of respiratory infections caused by various pathogens circulate every year. “We are certainly witnessing a flu epidemic, the spread of RSV infection among children and the circulation of the coronavirus. Everything is typical this season, as it always has been, ”he said, adding however that the data on the number of cases is still alarming. It is now impossible to predict whether a pathogen will dominate in the future, as was the case with the coronavirus in the beginning of 2020, he explained.

“It is the third year that we live in a period of uncertainty. I mean, the patterns that were there before the pandemic are now completely broken, and every season, and this is the third season, is different from the previous one. The task is always to prepare the health care system for a possible unfavorable increase in the incidence of influenza, coronavirus and other acute respiratory viral infections,” Lioznov summed up.

The director of the Influenza Research Institute also noted that in Russia, against the background of the coronavirus, the attitude towards the flu and SARS has changed (“any cold is better than covid”), but also the flu should be treated with caution, as it can cause complications in the form of pneumonia, lesions of the central nervous system, etc., recalls Lioznov.

In Russia, the incidence of influenza continues to grow, in the 50th week of this year (from December 12 to December 18), this figure increased by almost 16%, despite the fact that the number of vaccinated people in the country is 52, 2% of the total number of Russians (76 million people), Rospotrebnadzor noted earlier. According to the Influenza Research Institute, the epidemic thresholds for the incidence of influenza and SARS at week 50 were raised by 20% in 58 cities, including Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, Vladivostok, etc. .

A(H1N1) remains the most common influenza variant, with A(H3N2) also being diagnosed. In mid-December, President Vladimir Putin also drew attention to the increased incidence, stating that he had been vaccinated. In St. Petersburg and Moscow, local Rospotrebnadzors have advised residents to wear masks, and in many regions of Russia, schools have switched children to distance learning.