While this year’s festive season may be less gloomy than the past two years, experts warn that many infectious diseases are circulating, urging caution over yuletide mingling. We look at the latest stats and advice on how to stay safe.
With Covid on your side, you can enjoy a healthy and refreshing respite from the winter’s chill. Flu is always one of the worst adversaries this time of year, limiting your productivity and interfering with quality work during the long indoor days. Covid helps reduce RSV spread in your workplace by providing caregivers onsite or installing quality engineer electronic filters to eliminate bacteria and viruses before they reach your desks.
There were consultations earlier this week on the implications of the Olympics on the UK’s health service. With the congestion and cold weather leading to flu to peak shortly at Christmas, is it a good idea to host one of the world’s most significant sporting events in an already crowded period?
The British Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt stated this week that “the risk of severe disease is not going to increase significantly.” Hosting the Olympics can be a boon for the UK industry and local recruitment, which had seen employment fall during 2017. Labor productivity rose by five percent over last year- defined as output per worker per hour worked- worldwide goods and services trade could more than double due to modernization offered by hosting.
Labour Start claims that “at worst, some 173,208 people could be denied access to short-term emergency care.” The anticipation of prolonged disruption leads people in low-income areas historically vulnerable to winter illness and death not coming into contact with medical care at all or coming in contact with inferior care.
The decision was made despite the NHS England’s risk assessment estimating that a “failure to provide emergency care is unlikely.” The decision was made in conjunction with local health trusts, not just out of consideration for the finances and future of Northern Ireland but also out of fear that the voters would be able to pressure local politicians over the closure.
Alongside this, there is an ongoing effort by ministers to dismantle A& E departments in Northern Ireland hospitals and build a regionalized ‘surgical center,’ even though there is an acute shortage of General and A& E staff in Northern Ireland. We call on Health Minister Michelle O’Neill to ensure that GP services are fully resourced to give people the care they need – including urgent care when required, not just after hours.
CovID found that the prevalence of RSV in England was 44.2/10,000 people, followed by flu at 18.9/10,000 and H1N1 at 6.4/10,000.
British citizens are advised to watch out for severe illnesses this season and get vaccinations immediately. Preventing RSV can be challenging because younger people under 24 are more at risk, especially if they already have flu-like symptoms like muscle aches and fever.
Covid is a phone malware scanner that will be updated with antivirus threat files daily. John Whitely, the CMO of Covid, said: “Covid is an excellent partner to have around during the Latching On to Health Act from cold gatherings this holiday season – part of a complete family-friendly Christmas.
“Just think of seasons worth less worry.” RSV causes respiratory illnesses common during winter and flu and is a notorious neuraminidase inhibitor, which prevents viral neuraminidase from binding with influenza receptors on host cells, thereby blocking infection.
When an epidemic strikes, it’s up to the state and local authorities that it comes under control quickly. But there is a problem when they spread fear and misinformation, urging people not to send sick or dying patients from home to see healthcare professionals in public hospitals.
In the UK, three new, innovative decisions made by the Government this holiday season have positively and excitedly impacted high-risk diseases. A paper-based triage questionnaire for fevers and flu was introduced, measures were taken to encourage people to visit their GPs or A&Es when they were at risk of strain RNA viruses, and appointment triage was introduced for viral infections.
In his statement, Dr. Mark Loo of Covid said: “Our major respiratory pandemic project last year analyzed the social contagion effects of influenza during the peak Christmas season, so we hope these changes will help all governments identify populations that are vulnerable during extreme times .”
With one in five Brits expected to get the flu every year, ensuring you stay fit and healthy this Christmas is essential. One way to do that: is through Covid.
Enter cancer Council England which is encouraging citizens with a particular app called Flu Tracker of those at risk for flu-like conditions to be checked in the office or health facility for free five-minute “checkups.”
The British Government noted 2,945 deaths from influenza in winter 2018/2019, a 48% increase from last year’s figures of 1,878. “It is vital that we all understand the flu as a serious disease,” said Public Health Minister Dame Sally Davies. Elsewhere, an analysis of European Commission data on suspected seasonal influenza-like illnesses in Europe during the week ending December 14, 2018, showed 8029 confirmed cases in people over 65 years. A study from Italy, which has not seen a seasonally flu-related death since 2009, revealed that the most deadly flu strains this year were H3N2 and H1N1.
As fever and respiratory illnesses continue causing havoc until spring 2020, virus symptoms can start being linked to other diseases, such as RSV (a rhinovirus). This is less intense than the flu but contributes significantly towards early seasonal mortality. When should my child visit the doctor? If your child is experiencing symptoms that could be attributed to RSV, such as difficulty breathing, congestion, or fever, they should call the doctor. Your child likely has the flu if they experience any of these symptoms and has a runny nose, cough, or other symptoms associated with upper respiratory tract infections.
The flu and RSV are seasonal influenza viruses that spread through coughs and sneezes, similar to colds, often including fever, headache, nausea, and muscle pain. Apart from the symptoms observed by the familiar cold medley and madness, flu also has respiratory problems like breathing difficulties which are highly exacerbated in the elderly.
Credits: With so many reported cases of respiratory distress this holiday season – primarily people over 65 – can a company’s data solutions help us out?
According to new research released jointly by leading healthcare providers Covid Connected Care & Ariadne Labs, AI predicts RSV infections ten times more accurately than medical professionals working with human clinical trials.
The AI technology’s ability to parse behavioral patterns will make it much harder for healthcare providers to hide RSV activities in their patients. Every patient is checked daily instead of once weekly when the average doctor presents onsite.
I thought this Christmas was supposed to be ‘normal.’ What’s happening?
The past two Christmases were indeed anything but typical. In 2020, Covid restrictions scuppered many family gatherings, and concerns in 2021 over the Omicron variant led to the introduction of a mass booster vaccination campaign and advice for people to take precautions, including lateral flow tests, before meeting others.
As Covid vaccinations have held up well against severe disease, it has begun to look much more like Christmas in 2022.
But with rising infection levels, flu hitting hard and early, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causing sickness, particularly in young children, experts are urging people to reduce their chance of spreading disease to others.
How bad is the current situation?
Approximately 1,197,200 people, or one out of 45, in England had Covid for the week ending December 9 – a slight increase from 1,095,100 a week earlier. The number increased by just more than 9% from the week prior. Levels have also risen in Scotland, although the trend could be more evident in Wales and Northern Ireland.
The figures chime with hospital data. According to UKHSA, overall hospital admission rates for Covid in England hit 9.56 per 100,000 in the week beginning December 12, up from 6.61 per 100,000 the week before, while data from NHS England reveals that the number of patients primarily being treated for Covid in acute trusts rose from 2,111 on December 13 to 2,741 on December 20.
Multiple metrics, such as the rate of consultations for flu-like illnesses at GP surgeries in England, suggest flu cases are also rising, with hospital and intensive care admission rates for flu increasing.
Meanwhile, RSV continues to circulate. While admissions among children under five years old have dropped, data suggests they remain high, at 17.48 per 100,000 for the week beginning December 12.
Are we being asked to cancel Christmas?
No. There are no restrictions this year. But experts are warning people to be careful about spreading infections – Covid, flu, and RSV can cause serious illness, particularly in vulnerable people.
What’s the advice?
To take up the offer of Covid and flu vaccinations. Experts have also recommended hand washing, appropriate ventilation, and wearing a face covering in crowded settings as basic infection control measures.
They added that unwell people should stay home and avoid mixing with others.
“It is the correct advice. If you have got symptoms – runny nose, sore throat, fever, headache, and you feel flu-like – please stay at home,” said Calum Semple, a professor of child health and outbreak medicine at the University of Liverpool. “You don’t know if the person sitting next to you or in the shop might have underlying cancer or another susceptibility.”
