The waiting rooms of health centers are full of people suffering from respiratory diseases, covid and flu. On top of all that, the "super flu" is ravaging Serbia. What does it mean and how dangerous is it?
Waiting rooms and offices in Serbia they are full due to seasonal respiratory infections, flu and covid. The epidemiological situation is "very demanding", but it still does not paralyze the health system and for now there is no need to declare an emergency, say the authorities. A mutated version of the flu bombastically called "superflu" got involved in everything, but it is not a new virus, says pulmonologist Slavica Plavšić for "Vreme".
He states that seasonal respiratory infections first appeared when children started school, and that ordinary viruses followed. Then the season of respiratory syncytial viruses began, due to which it happened all over Serbia that most of the departments did not come to school.
After that, the flu season began, which usually comes in November, but this year the first few separate cases appeared already in October, which, Plavšić points out, is very early for seasonal flu.
"In addition, there is also covid, whose presence is not tested in Serbia, although it is written that the most severe cases are tested. Covid has been written off as a public health threat, even though there are many of them and it is most often classified as respiratory or flu-like infections. Fortunately, it is not even close to what we had during the years of the corona virus epidemic, but there is a lot of it," says Dr. Plavšić.
The mentioned superflu, she emphasizes, is not a completely new virus, but just a mutated version of the good old flu.
"That flu variant first affected Australia, Japan and Great Britain that's why they gave it that bombastic name - 'supergrip'", says Plavšić.
"Until last year, they were four-valent vaccines which contained antigens for two types of virus A and two types of virus B. One antigen against virus B was removed, because that virus stopped appearing," explains Plavšić.
He states that the process of forming the vaccine ends in April, but adds that this year in June, a new subtype of the AH3 strain appeared, which has seven mutations.
"Those mutations aren't big enough to make a pandemic, but they're big enough to make a more severe flu variant than we've had in previous seasons, and that's the flu that's appeared in Serbia. It causes a more severe clinical picture than ordinary seasonal flu and lasts much longer. A more severe clinical picture means that the disease begins suddenly, and the person is fully functional literally only a day before he gets sick, and then suddenly every bone starts to hurt, he cannot get out of bed for several days, and the patients describe the pain as tearing, as if their muscles and nerves are being torn, and the head and chest "burst" from the pain. All this with a high temperature, up to 40 degrees, which cannot be lowered. In short, a very bad general condition that overcomes even the strongest man. It takes more time to recover from such a condition than in the case of an ordinary seasonal flu," explains Plavšić.
Based on how the flu behaves in both hemispheres of the Earth, which is monitored by the World Health Organization, the composition of the viruses that prevail in the southern hemisphere is formed, and on the basis of which the seasonal flu vaccine for the current year is made for both hemispheres, i.e. for the entire planet.
He states that the situation will be partly relaxed by the fact that they are in Vojvodina students are already on vacation, and soon it will be the same in the rest of Serbia, but he warns that the holidays are coming, so the number of sick people will increase due to the numerous and often mass gatherings that come with the holidays.
Even so, the situation can be improved with some prevention measures such as avoiding contact with those we know for sure are sick, washing hands, eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, and wearing masks over the nose and mouth, which is a useful measure followed by very few people. Of course - also by vaccination.
"The vulnerable groups should have received the vaccine, but it is not too late, and the vaccine will certainly come in handy, because the flu season has not yet reached its peak in Serbia, which is expected in mid-January, after the holidays. According to information from a week ago, the vaccine is not available in private health centers, but it is available in state health institutions, namely the trivalent vaccine from the Institute Torlak. That's why those who were late and were afraid of the current situation - and they should be - can receive the vaccine," says Plavšić.
He reminds that the flu vaccine does not have such a strong potential to prevent infection, but it protects against severe forms of the disease, hospitalization and death.
"Before the appearance of superflu, the vaccine protected in 30 to 40 percent of cases, and immunity lasted for several months, depending on the immune status of the individual. The existing vaccine partially protects against the most severe forms of superflu," says Plavšić.
He points out that the seasonal flu, as a serious systemic disease, is underestimated every year around the world even though it claims thousands of lives and states that 8.000 people died from the flu in the UK alone last year.
He points out that the flu is especially fatal for older people with comorbidities, that is, those who have two or more diseases at the same time, but that age in itself is not a prerequisite for the appearance of more serious consequences due to the flu.
Epidemiologist Zoran Radovanović told N1 that the following days will be dry and cold weather, which are "ideal conditions for the spread of the flu virus."
"We expect more and more patients. It is not too late for those who have not been vaccinated, but it takes two weeks to create antibodies," Radovanović said.
The latest data from the Institute for Public Health of Serbia "Dr. Milan Jovanović Batut" show that flu activity is currently above the epidemic threshold and that the virus is widespread throughout the country, and the recorded rate is 55,3 percent higher compared to the previous week.
From December 15 to 21, 18.459 cases of flu-like illnesses were recorded with an incidence of 276,98 per 100.000 inhabitants.
Epidemiological indicators indicate that there is a wide geographical spread, the clinical activity of influenza is above the epidemic threshold, while the incidence trend is increasing.
As in previous weeks, the highest age-specific rates are registered in children.
In the age group from 0 to 4 years, the recorded incidence rate is 1042,09 per 100.000 inhabitants, which is an increase of 66,7 percent compared to the previous week, while for children aged 5 to 14 years, an incidence rate of 844,37 per 100.000 inhabitants is registered, which is an increase of 66,2 percent.
From December 12 to 21, 17.937 cases of acute respiratory infections were registered, with an incidence rate of 1470,88 per 100.000 inhabitants.
The recorded rate is higher by 17 percent compared to the previous week, as well as by 27 percent compared to the same period of the previous season.
Laboratory confirmed cases of infection with influenza virus type AH3, A untyped and A(H1)pdm09 were reported from the territories of the cities of Belgrade, Braničevo, Južnobački, Južnobanatski, Kolubarski, Mačvanski, Moravički, Nišavski, Pomoravski, Podunavski, Raški (from the territory of the jurisdiction of the Public Health Institute Novi Pazar and the Institute of Public Health Kraljevo), Severnobanatski, Severnobački, Srednjebanatski, Šumadija, Srem, Zlatibor and Pčinj districts.
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