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China News Service, Beijing, September 22, Title: The Epidemic Has Not Returned And The Flu Will Come To The Expert’s Appeal: Timely Standardize Prevention And Control
China News Agency reporter Yu Zhanyi
As the weather turns cooler, in the upcoming high incidence influenza (flu) season, how to distinguish between influenza, the common cold, and new coronary pneumonia, and how to use medical drugs in the first place, has become the focus public attention.
The flu can be fatal, learning to distinguish is the first step
Currently, the general public lacks sufficient knowledge about influenza and influenza vaccines, insufficient attention to influenza, and insufficient awareness about prevention.
From a medical point of view, the common cold is mainly an infection of the upper respiratory tract caused by respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus, adenovirus, coronavirus, and parainfluenza virus. It can appear throughout the year. It usually occurs more frequently in spring and has milder symptoms. . Influenza is a systemic disease that primarily affects the upper respiratory tract caused by the influenza virus. If not treated in time, influenza patients can develop infectious pneumonia, bronchitis, sinus infections, hospitalization, or even death.
Professor Shu Yuelong, chairman of the Medical Virology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association and dean of the School of Public Health of Sun Yat-sen University (Shenzhen), said in an online communication with the media during the Conference National Academic on Infectious Diseases on the 22nd: “Influenza has obvious seasonality. Characteristic, it usually enters epidemic season around November and is prone to spreading widely. After becoming infected with the influenza virus, most patients present with obvious fever symptoms, with a body temperature of 39-40 ℃, and may have chills and chills. Often accompanied by systemic symptoms such as systemic muscle and joint pain, fatigue and loss of appetite. Some patients have mild or no symptoms Influenza – Children infected with influenza B often have vomiting, abdominal pain, and diarrhea as the main manifestations.
“This year’s flu has faced the new corona epidemic, which has increased the difficulty of distinguishing influenza. Therefore, the first step in preventing and controlling influenza is learning to distinguish influenza.” Shu Yuelong noted that influenza is very similar to the initial symptoms of new coronary pneumonia, such as fever, cough and fatigue. Patients with the above symptoms should go to the local hospital fever clinic in time for medical treatment, and the identification and testing of the novel coronavirus and influenza virus should be carried out immediately by medical institutions to provide a basis for prevention and control of the epidemic and clinical treatment.
The route of transmission of the influenza virus is similar to that of the new coronavirus
Data shows that worldwide, influenza can cause 5% to 10% of adults and 20% to 30% of children to get sick each year. There are approximately 1 billion cases each year, of which up to 5 million are serious cases and up to 650,000 deaths. Case. China averages 88,000 excess deaths from influenza-related respiratory illnesses each year, accounting for 8.2% of deaths from respiratory illnesses.
Similar to the new coronavirus, the influenza virus can also be transmitted through droplets and contact. Shu Yuelong recalled that after the flu is diagnosed, patients must first isolate themselves and try to avoid infecting others.
Some people believe in “remedies” to relieve symptoms or treat the flu, such as drinking vinegar, boiling ginger tea and brown sugar, steaming in the sauna, holding the head and sweating, etc. These methods not only do not have any therapeutic effect, but they worsen the condition and even bypass the norm. Treatment time is detrimental to health and even life threatening.
Also, taking antibiotics like amoxicillin and azithromycin on your own is also a medication misunderstanding. “Antibiotics can only treat bacterial infections, not the viruses that cause influenza.” Shu Yuelong said that polymerase drugs approved for influenza in the past two years, such as the development of drugs such as mabaloxavir Success has provided a “new weapon” for the treatment of influenza. Compared to previous flu antiviral medications, mabaloxavir tablets can significantly shorten the time to relieve flu symptoms and should only be taken once throughout the course of illness.
“The prevention and control of influenza is a systematic project. We need vaccines, drugs and public health measures. The same goes for influenza, new crowns and any other infectious disease,” said Shu Yuelong.
Vaccination against influenza is the most economical and effective means of prevention and control
Influenza is understood to be the first infectious disease subject to global surveillance. The global influenza surveillance and response network established by the World Health Organization (WHO) has spread to more than 100 countries around the world. The China National Influenza Center is the fifth and first WHO influenza research and reference cooperative center in a developing country in the world.
However, the average annual flu vaccination rate in China is only about 2%. Why is China’s vaccination rate so low? Shu Yuelong believes that the general public still lacks a correct understanding of the harm of influenza. Currently, influenza vaccines produced in China use the WHO-recommended strain of the Northern Hemisphere influenza vaccine. In 2018, the quadrivalent influenza vaccine was approved for marketing in China. However, China’s influenza vaccine is a second-class vaccine. Except for free vaccination of certain populations in some areas, most of them have to be paid for yourself, and there are many problems with the availability of the flu vaccine.
In addition to timely vaccination against influenza, Shu Yuelong also said that the public health measures implemented for the prevention and control of the new corona epidemic this year are also very effective in reducing the spread of influenza. For this reason, he called on the public to continue maintaining this type of public health measures to prevent the new corona epidemic, such as the conscious use of masks in transport and places where people meet, maintaining hand hygiene. and paying attention to the etiquette when coughing. (Finish)
