This Monday, the new ‘conseller’ of Health, Manuel Balcellsgraduated in Medicine, had already warned him: we can expect a “complicated” winter Epidemiologically speaking, due to the coincidence of the flu, the coronavirus and other viruses, such as the syncytial.
Your concern is not trivial. ‘The New York Times’ is already talking about a ‘tripledemia‘, by combining the two epidemics of last winter – the flu and coronavirus– with childhood infections by RSV, or syncytial virus.
It is a common lung infection in infants and young children, which causes inflammation and congestion in the bronchioles of the lungalthough most cases are mild and usually resolve within two or three weeks without treatment.
“Unknown” landscape
“We are in uncharted territory” assures the American newspaper Andrew Read, a microbiologist at Pennsylvania State University. “Most cases of all three viruses will likely be mild, but together they can sicken millions of Americans and overwhelm hospitals,” public health experts warn.
“We’re seeing everything come back strong,” admits Dr. Alpana Waghmare, an infectious disease expert at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center and a physician at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
RSV is highly contagious and is usually transmitted more frequently in the nurseries and schools, due to close contact between children. It is estimated that 90% of children will have been infected with respiratory syncytial virus during the first two years of life.
However, despite normally occurring in children, respiratory syncytial virus can affect people of all ages. In general, respiratory syncytial virus infections in the United States occur during the fall, winter or spring.
Although there is no specific treatment for respiratory syncytial virus infection, pain relievers, such as paracetamol or ibuprofen, can help with fever and pain, just as it happens with covid and flu. It is also important to drink fluids to prevent dehydration and ease the cough.
More covid in Catalonia
Diagnosed cases of covid have grown in recent seven days up to 5,723 positives, but instead those admitted with coronavirus decrease slightly, going from 540 to 521 hospitalized this Tuesday, while the ICUs remain stable, with 17 critics, reports Efe.
Related news
In the last week, until last Sunday, 5,723 cases were diagnosed, compared to 5,121 the previous week, which represents a growth of 11%.
According to the data updated this Tuesday by the Information System for the Surveillance of Infections in Catalonia (SIVIC), those admitted to hospitals decreased slightly, from 540 to 521, after in the second week of October there was a notable growth of 100 patients in seven days.