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ARCHIVED - Fewer Covid cases lead to spring flu spike in Spain
Increased hygiene measures during the pandemic may have been responsible for keeping flu at bay in Spain
Over the last two years of the pandemic, we’ve seen that as Covid cases begin to ease off, other viruses take advantage of the lull. In 2021, the Respiratory Syncytial Virus, which causes bronchitis, made a surprise appearance in the middle of June and this year, flu, which usually experiences its peak in December, January and February, has rebounded very atypically in the spring.
Between March 21 and 27, although the rate of transmission of the flu had begun to slow down, it was still at 36.8% compared to just 5.3% of coronavirus, a marked difference from the same period in 2021, when the transmission was at 9.9% and 11.2% respectively. In fact, the incidence of acute respiratory infections (ARI), which include flu, has been steadily increasing since February.
The head of the Epidemiology Service of the General Directorate of Public Health of the Community of Madrid, María Ordobás, confirms this “upward trend,” highlighting the fact that this year, “the delay in the appearance [of the flu virus] is exceptional, but it must also be said that the epidemic peak now is much lower than that of the pre-Covid era. We must also assess that last year we did not have any circulation.”
The million-dollar question is why flu cases are on the rise when the pandemic is coming under control, and the short answer is that scientists aren’t entirely sure, but the experts believe that Covid control measures played a large part in keeping other viruses at bay over the past two years.
Conscientious hand-washing practices, mask-wearing, social distancing, hand sanitizer... all of these practices drastically reduced the spread of flu, but it has made a stronger comeback in 2022 than scientists were expecting, while appearing to hide away in its usual winter months while the Omicron variant dominated.
In any case, the experts agree that the flu virus this spring, while unexpected, is doing little more than causing the usual symptoms such as fever, sore throat and muscle pain, and that the illness is only causing "very occasional, exceptional admissions."
Image: Archive
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