The World Health Organization (OMS) warned this Thursday of the early start of the seasonal flu epidemic in Europe in a context of increasing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and while the coronavirus pandemic has not yet been eradicated.
«The region is experiencing an increasing circulation of influenza and RSV. Along with covid-19, these viruses are expected to have a high impact on our health services and populations this winter,» the director of WHO- Europe, Hans Klüge.
Kluge highlighted the importance of vulnerable groups getting vaccinated against both the flu and the coronavirus and recalled that type A influenza causes severe illness in the majority of the elderly or chronically ill population.
A growing number of people, almost half over the age of 55, are being admitted for flu to European hospitals, which have seen increases in admissions since October.
In the case of RSV, around twenty countries, of the 53 that make up the WHO European region (which includes Russia and several Central Asian countries), have reported an increase in cases.
Both the incidence of covid-19 and the number of admissions to intensive care or hospitals in general, in addition to deaths, remain at low levels compared to previous months, although the situation could change if new variants emerge.
«With the continuing impact of the covid-19 pandemic and the circulation and impact of other respiratory pathogens, it is difficult to predict how winter will evolve,» warns the WHO, which urges boosting vaccination programs and prevention measures, such as hand hygiene, ventilation or wearing masks in crowded places.
