There is an increase in influenza epidemics in both adults and children. This month, education was suspended at a school in Isparta’s Sรผtรงรผler district for 5 days due to flu infections. Bolu governor Erkan Kฤฑlฤฑรง said that there are around 6,000 children in the city who have not gone to school due to the flu, but that education will continue. Rize’s health management announced that there has been a serious increase in childhood flu and similar diseases in recent days. In the written communiquรฉ from the Health Directorate it was stated that the pediatric emergency service was busy due to the increase in cases. It has been noted that children showing signs of illness should not be sent to school and should not be allowed to meet their friends.
Turkish Thoracic Society on December 24, โCollect and disseminate flu data that represents the entire countrycalled the Ministry of Health. The association has also called for new anti-Covid vaccines to be introduced, for children under the age of 12 to have access to the anti-Covid vaccine and for rapid diagnostic kits that analyze common viruses to be disseminated.
โCHILDREN MEET THESE VIRUSES FOR THE FIRST TIMEโ
Stating that the cases are very common especially in children, the specialist in diseases of the chest, prof. Dr. Bรผlent Tutluoฤlu’s Latest Developments โChildren are encountering these viruses for the first time. Even adults have been free of these viruses for two years, now we see an exaggerated response during the first contact period. Just like in the early days of the coronavirus,โ he explains.
‘HOSPITALS HAVE DIFFICULT TO FIND A PLACE, EMERGENCY SERVICES ARE FULL’
Tutluoฤlu explains that the temperature changes normally observed in the autumn months create a serious risk for these infections, but also this year, the flu has progressed differently from its usual course:
โThe flu was rising in November, January and March each year, falling in between. In other words, since the end of November, it would peak 3 times as a bell curve, but now the flu has been going unabated since the end of October.”
Stating that the number of cases has increased even more in recent weeks, Tutluoฤlu notes that they are working intensively during the period of the Covid-19 pandemic:
โThere is difficulty finding beds in hospitals, the emergency rooms are full. During the Covid period, the vital impact of him has been at the forefront. Now, even if its vital effect is not in the foreground, there is a strong density in hospitals and we have to work at the same pace as in the Covid period”.
โINFECTION INCREASED BY 2-3 TIMESโ
Stating that the immune system of society, whose contact with these viruses has decreased due to masks and other measures during the pandemic process, has increased the sensitivity to these viruses, Prof. Dr. Bรผlent Ertuฤrul said, โFor more than two years, the company has been under serious protection, masks have been worn. By not comparing these viruses to these children and the general population, we have created a sensible mass increase,โ he says.
โDuring the pandemic, we have also prevented the spread of influenza, adenoviruses, enteroviruses and a number of viral viruses that can cause upper respiratory tract infections, which we have seen in recent years. This year, when everything was free, the masks took off and the children started to participate in continuing education, they naturally encountered these viruses and all that sensitive mass started to get infected. As a result, we are faced with a much higher number of patients than you can see each year. While the number of patients you can see normally during these times is 10, this increased to 25-30 as sensitive mass increased, it increased 2-3 times.
PROTECTION METHODS
Doctors say all of these upper respiratory tract infections, which are now common in the community, are transmitted via droplets or respiratory tracts. Assoc. Dr. Emine Parlak says that these diseases can also be combated with Covid-19 measures and transmission can be prevented. Staying away from crowded environments, keeping distance, and frequently ventilating closed environments are among the basic precautions. You underline that the application of the rules of mask, distance and hygiene is also effective against the flu. Furthermore, it is recommended that people at risk of transmission or showing flu symptoms use masks in crowded places and that children with flu symptoms are not sent to school until they recover.
