The peak of the flu, whose transmissibility was very high this season compared to previous ones, is beginning to subside, although its incidence (almost 400 cases per hundred thousand inhabitants) accounts for almost half of all respiratory diseases (935 cases). and continues to lead to an increase in hospital admissions, particularly among older people.
These data come from the work of the Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance System (Sivira) within the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII) and refer to the first week of January.
According to this report, influenza rates in primary care show that the incidence, which has exceeded the base threshold after a four-week increase, is gradually decreasing, going from 430 cases per hundred thousand inhabitants on a national average to 387. According to Sivira data, the disease is visible in all age groups, with Except for those between 45 and 64 years old.
Meanwhile, hospitalizations due to influenza continue to increase, with the rate in the total population at 14 cases per hundred thousand inhabitants (10 cases in the previous week), mainly in people over 80 years old: 93 cases for the above proportion.
However, the ISCIII is clear: “Severity indicators point to values in the range of previous seasons”, although the spread of the flu was intense. This is also evident from the document that the Ministry of Health sent to communities on the occasion of the mask requirement in health centers.
“Flu severity data so far indicates similar percentages to previous seasons, both in ICU admissions and deaths. However, due to the intense blood circulation, the impact on population health can be high,” the letter says.
Decrease in all respiratory infections
As for respiratory diseases as a whole, their indicators also pause, so that the incidence recorded by general practitioners, which serves as an x-ray of the behavior of viruses in each season, shows a decrease of 966 cases per hundred thousand inhabitants. until 935.
In this context, the transmission of SARS COV 2 is subject to fluctuations with ups and downs, but hospitalizations due to Covid-19 show signs of decline in the most affected group, which are citizens over 79 years old.
In the case of bronchiolitis, admissions for this disease continue to increase in children under one year of age, while in the other age groups they decrease for the second week in a row, with admissions stabilizing.
The use of the mask, flexible when descending
Since these indicators are improving in almost all areas, municipalities may decide to be more flexible in their use in health centers if they associate two consecutive weeks of declines in respiratory disease indicators.
The binding measure was issued on Wednesday by the Health Ministry amid protests from several municipalities over an epidemic that has put renewed strain on hospitals and primary care in many centers in Spain.
A situation that medical associations and unions attribute not only to the epidemic peak of the flu and its high transmissibility this season, but also to the lack of foresight, staff and resources in a national health system that has been “underfunded” as in professionals for years as well as in the budget.
For the rest of the respiratory virus season, both the health service and the Autonomous Communities have called for increased vaccinations against influenza and Covid-19, as well as against bronchiolitis in children. The campaign started in late September and has resulted in hospitalizations this season among children under 5 years old have been curbed.