There will no longer be restrictions related to the spread of influenza on the territory of the country. But what is the situation and what should we be careful about… Prof. Iva Hristova, director of the National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, speaks to FACT.
- Prof. Hristova, are we already coming out of the flu wave that has swept the country?
- Flu cases are categorically decreasing for the third consecutive week, but the disease continues to be a problem. Although decreasing smoothly: last week we had 4110 cases, and the week before that there were 4640 cases. That is, we have a decrease of just over 500 people per week. The trend is definitely downward and it will remain so. However, we must not stop taking precautions.
- Which are the most affected districts in the country?
- Currently, these are the districts of Veliko Tarnovo, Yambol and Plovdiv, in which the incidence is between 95 and 99 percentiles. (b.r. – percentile is a statistical measure of the position dividing the ordered distribution of data into one hundred equal parts) In all regions of the country we have a decrease, and only in Ruse there is an increase, but the incidence is below the 95th percentile, which is below the values for declaring an epidemic.
- Which flu is bothering us the most this year?
- We definitely had a dominance of type “A“ flu, but not AH1, but AH3.
- Is there a difference in the course of the disease?
- No, the symptoms are the same. This is important for monitoring the circulation of influenza viruses, for their antigenic changes, which are taken into account when developing the vaccine for next year. We have an increase in type “B“ flu, but this is typical of the end of the epidemic wave.
- Does the cold weather we are in help or hinder the spread of the flu?
- In cold weather, we should protect ourselves from catching a cold. A cold opens the “door“ of our body to viruses, and they open the “door“ to bacteria. So it is good to avoid the possibility of a cold, especially in young children. Warm boots, a scarf on the neck and mouth, a hat on the head - this protects us. The same applies to older people - if we get wet, if we catch a cold, we become more susceptible to infections. Our research at the Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases shows that in 33% of the samples sent, the flu virus is proven, and in 25% of the remaining samples we prove viruses that cause acute respiratory diseases. We have many viruses, besides the influenza virus. First of all, I would put the increase in the frequency of respiratory syncytial virus and metapneumovirus, which cause quite serious diseases - bronchitis, bronchiolitis and pneumonia.
- Have we forgotten Covid yet?
- There is no way we can forget it, because we will live with it, we will evolve together, but at the moment it is at quite low levels, I would say minimal. Given the general immunity, it will proceed much more smoothly. It is currently at minimal levels of disease, but with the onset of spring and warmer weather, cases will increase.