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The COVID-19 pandemic “stopped” many infectious diseases. Increased hygiene and social distance meant that once popular pathogens attacked us much less frequently. Unfortunately, by the time. The microbes are back, and the return is spectacular. A good example is the flu virus, which made itself felt strongly, among others In Australia. From the beginning of the year, over 38,7 thousand people have been found there. illnesses. For comparison, last year there were only 600 of them.
- From January to May 2022, over 38,7 thousand jobs were recorded in Australia. getting sick with the flu. Over 70 percent was diagnosed within two weeks of May
- Experts emphasize that these statistics are underestimated anyway, because many infections are not reported and patients heal themselves at home
- The data of the National Institute of Hygiene (PZH) show that in Poland, flu has been diagnosed or suspected in over 1,6 million people since the beginning of the year.
- More current information can be found on the Onet homepage
Australia is battling the flu
«The flu season this year is very bad, comparable to the one we had in 2017» Said the Prime Minister of Queensland, Annastacia Palaszczuk. “We must now respond with a pre-emptive strike and ensure that preventive action is taken,” she added.
In Australia, 38,7 thousand people have been identified since the beginning of the year. getting sick with the flu. 26 thousand of them were diagnosed between May 9 and 22, which is before the flu season falling in winter (in Australia, winter begins in June and lasts until September – ed.). For comparison, in almost the entire last year (January to November 2021), “only” 598 cases of influenza were found.
The eastern states of New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland are particularly affected. All three have announced free flu vaccinations to give as many citizens as possible a chance to be protected against infection. Both officials and doctors are calling for vaccinations.
Authorities fear a repeat of 2017, when the flu epidemic turned out to be extremely dangerous – over 1,2 thousand people died from the infection. people.
The rest of the text below the video.
Poland is not that far from Australia
The distance (geographic and climatic) from Australia could indicate that in Poland we have nothing to worry about, but the growing trend in the context of influenza cases is also visible beyond our western border.
The data of the German Robert Koch Institute show that since November 2021, 14,4 applications have been reported. getting sick with the flu. These are laboratory-confirmed cases, which means that the patient has been tested for the flu virus. Nobody among German officials is under the illusion that there is “only” that much infection. Most people are self-medicated at home, and even those who go to their doctor with flu symptoms are not always referred to confirm or rule out tests.
It is similar in Poland. The National Institute of Hygiene, in its reports on infectious diseases, presents data on not only confirmed cases of influenza, but also its suspicions. This is why our numbers are higher than, for example, in Australia – the last report shows that in our country from January to the end of May such cases were found 1 million 659 thousand. 756 (for comparison, SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed in the laboratory in 1, 972 samples in the laboratory at the same time).
The flu “waited” for the pandemic to end
The great flu comeback is considered a consequence of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the past two years, many infectious diseases, especially seasonal ones such as the flu, have “muted”. This is the result of compliance with sanitary and epidemiological rules, especially covering the nose and mouth, and tools such as isolation of the sick and quarantine of contact persons. Diseases spreading by airborne droplets had little chance of spreading.
Now that most countries have returned to their pre-pandemic state and covid restrictions are forgotten, infectious diseases are back and are “catching up”.
Can your body cope with the pathogen? What is the condition of your immune system? You can check it by taking blood tests. You can find a package of immunity tests on the Medonet Market.
We encourage you to listen to the latest episode of the RESET podcast. This time we devote it to ecology. How to be eco and not go crazy? How can we care for our planet on a daily basis? What and how to eat? You will hear about this and many other topics related to ecology in the new episode of our podcast.