The head of the infectious diseases service at the Hospital del Mar in Barcelona, Robert Goerre, stated yesterday that the lack of rain “makes viruses spread more” and also that “the cold and dry environment also weakens the airways and facilitates the spread of the virus.” moving in.”
In an interview with the El Món radio program on RAC1, the infectious disease specialist recommended that people with symptoms wear a mask, as the Ministry of Health noted: “At a time when there is a lot of infection and there are a lot of people with symptoms, those who have symptoms “They should take the initiative to wear a mask. It is not 100 percent effective, but it helps prevent transmission of the virus. “Respiratory infections have increased fivefold in three weeks, a situation that affects the most vulnerable people, as well as increasing pressure on health care,” Goiri stressed.
The resurgence of influenza
These statements, made by an infectious disease expert, come in the context of the escalation of influenza and Covid-19 cases in Catalonia. So-called acute respiratory infections (ARI) rose in the week of December 18 to 24, especially influenza, according to the latest update of the Civil Health Ministry portal. Infections rose from 68,019 cases in the previous week (from December 11 to 17) to 71,674 cases in the last week.
The IRA rate is 909 affected per 100,000 population. Influenza is the most common source of infection, accounting for 22.6% of samples, followed by rhinovirus (17.9%), COVID (14.6%), and respiratory syncytial virus (13.2%). 10,077 cases of influenza were recorded, up from 7,117 cases the previous week. This data does not yet reflect the occurrence of the strongest days of Christmas this year. n
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