[ad_1]
June 14, 2021 – It’s not just people coming out of lockdown: As COVID-19 restrictions ease and masks disappear, as crowds gather and vacationers travel, viruses that had been reduced , in some cases with negligible threats, reappear.
For a moment it seemed the pandemic had brought some of the most typical seasonal viral illnesses under control. Some of the indications have been anecdotal, especially about less than influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (VRS).
But now the data is coming. The CDC has issued a health notice to inform doctors and caregivers of an increase in RSV cases in parts of the southern United States.
With this increased activity, the CDC is urging broader testing for RSV in patients with respiratory disease who test negative for coronavirus.
The CDC has noted an increase in positive RSV tests in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas.
Viruses that also come out of containment
RSV is most commonly seen in the fall and winter, so its early emergence is troubling, says pediatrician Martha F. Perry, MD.
Perry, associate professor and medical director at the University of North Carolina’s Primary Care Children’s Clinic at Chapel Hill, says with so many viruses kept at bay thanks to COVID-19 mitigation efforts, they can now start to circulate simultaneously.
“We are seeing an increase in referrals in our primary care clinics, emergency rooms and emergency care departments with viral-type illnesses,” she said.
“The concern is,” she added, “are we going to see a summer and winter wave at the same time?”
Perry said experts were closely monitoring RSV in the United States because Australia, where the seasons are opposite to those in the United States, has already experienced summer peaks in RSV after COVID-19 restrictions were lifted there. -low.
The Jewish Telegraph Agency also reports on a recent epidemic in Brooklyn from RSV. According to the city’s health department, there were 10 documented cases of RSV in Brooklyn during the last week of February. From April 4 to 10, they were 294.
A study by Parsa Hodjat, published in the medRxiv preprint, showed a sharp increase in seasonal respiratory viruses, including RSV, in Houston, Texas, after easing COVID-19 restrictions. The study has not yet been peer reviewed.
Researchers found that RSV cases had increased 166% as of May 25 compared to April.
Parainfluenza – a common virus that can cause respiratory illnesses such as colds, bronchitis, rump, and pneumonia – increased 424% in Houston from March to April, study finds find. It also increased 189% from April to May 25.
Seasonal coronaviruses, which typically emerge in winter and decline in March, rose 211% in Houston from March through April and continued to rise in May.
Rhinovirus and enterovirus cases rose 85% in Houston from March to April.
From nothing to a lot
Costi Sifri, MD, director of hospital epidemiology at the University of Virginia Health in Charlottesville, said that at one point this winter his hospital had no cases of influenza and very few cases of RSV.
Recently, he said, he saw an increase in parainfluenza cases after seeing few during the pandemic.
He also said that after a year of a few non-COVID infections, some patients could be infected with multiple viruses at once.
In a very rare example, he said, this week an infant at the University of Virginia Health was hospitalized with parainfluenza, adenovirus, RSV and rhinovirus /enterovirus at the same time.
“I’ve never seen a patient, a child, with four different respiratory viruses at the same time,” says Sifri.
Although he says it would likely continue to be very rare, “several viral infections at the same time are certainly possible, especially since people go back inside in the fall and don’t wear masks. “
Il note que bien que les transmissions de COVID-19 soient rares sur les surfaces, il n’est pas rare que d’autres virus soient transmis de cette façon, donc se relâcher lavage des mains ou d’autres habitudes de désinfection pourraient favoriser une augmentation des infections respiratoires non COVID.
Il a dit qu’il est possible que les personnes qui ont échappé aux rhumes et à la grippe habituels grâce à la pandémie soient plus sensibles aux virus réémergents, mais il est trop tôt pour le dire.
Avec l’incertitude, “Il nous appartiendra de vraiment promouvoir la vaccination contre la grippe”, a déclaré Sifri.
Selon les données du CDC, les laboratoires de santé américains n’ont confirmé que 2 150 cas de grippe entre le 27 septembre 2020 et le 29 mai 2021 (bien que le nombre réel de personnes qui ont contracté la grippe soit probablement plus élevé).
A titre de comparaison, entre octobre 2019 et avril 2020, le CDC a estimé qu’au moins 39 millions de personnes contracté la grippe.
Maximo Brito, MD, professeur de médecine à l’Université de l’Illinois à Chicago, et dit qu’il ne voit pas de menaces accrues mais un retour normal aux niveaux prépandémiques.
Les médecins, cependant, auront plus de défis diagnostiques.
Alors que désormais “chaque maladie pseudo-grippale qui se présente aux urgences est COVID jusqu’à preuve du contraire”, d’autres maladies respiratoires devront à nouveau être sérieusement prises en compte, dit-il.
Le CDC a développé un test qui vérifiera en même temps les virus de la grippe saisonnière de type A et B et le coronavirus. Le test sera utilisé par les laboratoires de santé publique. Le dépistage des virus en même temps donnera aux responsables de la santé publique des informations importantes sur la propagation de la grippe et du COVID-19 et sur les mesures de prévention nécessaires.
La FDA a donné au CDC autorisation d’utilisation d’urgence pour le test combiné.
Le CDC recommande à toutes les personnes de 6 mois et plus de se faire vacciner contre la grippe chaque année.
Brito dit de prédire quelles souches vaccins devra se protéger contre sera plus difficile parce que la grippe a été si maîtrisée pendant la pandémie.
Il a déclaré qu’il craignait également que la quantité de désinformation circulant sur COVID-19 rende les gens encore plus réticents à se faire vacciner contre la grippe la saison prochaine. La saison dernière, seulement 49,2 % des Américains ont obtenu un vaccin contre la grippe.
Brito a déclaré qu’il voyait des personnes dans son cabinet qui n’avaient jamais remis en question les vaccinations de routine dans le passé, devenir hésitantes maintenant.
“Je crains qu’ils ne fassent les mauvais choix à l’avenir”, a-t-il déclaré. “J’espère que je me trompe.”
.
[ad_2]
Pictures Credit