On January 17th, the National Health and Wellness Commission held a special press conference on "Seasonal Solar Terms and Health". Mi Feng, spokesperson of the National Health and Wellness Commission and deputy director of the Propaganda Department, said that at present, respiratory infectious diseases such as influenza are in a seasonal epidemic period. The monitoring results show that the respiratory infectious diseases in winter and spring are all caused by known pathogens, and no new infectious diseases have appeared. The epidemic intensity of this flu is lower than that of last winter epidemic season. At present, the positive rate of influenza virus detection in most northern provinces and some southern provinces has begun to decline. Covid-19, Mycoplasma pneumoniae and other respiratory infectious diseases are at a low epidemic level.
Antibiotics are ineffective against viral infections.
Li Dong, the chief physician of Beijing You ‘an Hospital, once said that the public can preliminarily analyze whether they have the flu or the common cold from the following aspects.
The first is to analyze the epidemiological history. If flu-like symptoms appear in winter and spring with high incidence of influenza, especially after close contact with flu cases, symptoms such as high fever, cough, sore throat, muscle aches and fatigue are likely to be infected with the flu. The common cold generally has no clear source of infection.
The second is from the symptom analysis. The symptoms of influenza are more severe, and the onset is urgent, which is often fever above 38.5 degrees Celsius. Besides coughing and sore throat, there will be obvious systemic symptoms, such as headache, muscle aches and special fatigue. The common cold is generally low-grade or moderate fever, and some people will not have fever. The symptoms are mainly nasal congestion, runny nose and sneezing, which are lighter than the flu.
After getting the flu, not everyone needs to go to the hospital. Home isolation with mild symptoms is enough. With some antipyretic and analgesic drugs, you can recover in about 7 days. If there is a high fever above 39 degrees Celsius during the period of home isolation, the effect of using antipyretic drugs is not good, and it is recommended to seek medical advice in time. If you have severe symptoms such as severe cough, shortness of breath, chest tightness, breath holding, or severe headache, frequent vomiting, confusion, etc., or the symptoms have not eased for more than 5 days, it is recommended to seek medical advice in time. We should pay attention to rational drug use and avoid abusing antibiotics, which are ineffective against viral infections.
Li Dong once said that at present, only mabaloxavir is approved for the treatment of influenza in China, but it has not been approved for post-exposure prevention. We should pay attention to the following points when using mabaloxavir to treat influenza: firstly, antiviral drugs should be used as soon as possible, and it is recommended to use them within 48 hours of onset; secondly, at present, only mabaloxavir is approved for antiviral treatment in people aged 5 and above in China, and oseltamivir should still be used for children under 5 years old with influenza, and oseltamivir should also be selected for antiviral treatment in pregnant women and lactating women; thirdly, there may be some interactions when mabaloxavir is used together with other drugs.
The flu epidemic intensity is lower than last winter epidemic season.
Wang Dayan, a researcher at the Institute of Viral Disease Prevention and Control of China Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said that the recent high incidence of influenza is a normal seasonal epidemic. The latest week’s monitoring data shows that the positive rate of influenza virus detection in most provinces in the north began to decline, and some provinces in the south also began to decline.
The epidemic characteristics of this influenza are as follows: in terms of epidemic intensity, the intensity of this influenza epidemic is lower than that of the last winter epidemic season; in terms of epidemic time, this year entered the epidemic season late, and it is expected that the peak time will be about one month later than that of the last winter epidemic season; in terms of influenza virus subtypes, the influenza virus subtypes prevalent everywhere so far are mainly influenza A (H1N1), and the last epidemic season was influenza A (H3N2) and influenza A (H1N1). In most years in the past, it also showed a variety of subtypes alternately popular.
How to do personal protection? First, form good habits, wash hands frequently, wear masks scientifically, and keep social distance to reduce the possibility of infection. The second is to enhance physical fitness and resistance, maintain adequate sleep, adequate nutrition, appropriate physical exercise, regular work and rest, and avoid overwork. The third is to ensure a clean indoor environment and good ventilation. The fourth is to minimize activities in crowded places and reduce contact with patients with acute respiratory infections. If you want to go to crowded places, you should wear masks scientifically. Fifth, when you are sick, you should rest at home, check and seek medical treatment as needed.
The proportion of human metapneumovirus is not high.
Recently, in addition to the high incidence of influenza, there are also mycoplasma pneumoniae, human metapneumovirus, Covid-19 and rhinovirus infections.
Li Dong once said that the "outbreak of human metapneumovirus infection in China" hyped by some foreign media does not exist. Human metapneumovirus is not a new virus, but a common pathogen causing respiratory infectious diseases in winter, which has been with human beings for at least several decades. In recent years, reports on human metapneumovirus have increased, mainly due to the development and progress of detection methods. Monitoring shows that the proportion of human metapneumovirus is not high in the current positive rate of nucleic acid in respiratory tract samples. Human metapneumovirus, respiratory syncytial virus, rhinovirus, etc. are all self-limiting diseases, and most of the symptoms can disappear by themselves. At present, the main thing is symptomatic treatment, more rest and waiting for the immune system to clear the virus and heal itself. Human metapneumovirus is generally susceptible to people of all ages, and the symptoms of children, the elderly and people with low immunity will be more serious.
You can still be vaccinated if you have the flu.
Wang Dayan said that influenza vaccination can significantly reduce the risk of onset and serious complications. It is generally recommended to vaccinate against influenza before the influenza epidemic season, but for individuals, as long as they are not infected, they can prevent influenza, reduce infection, alleviate symptoms, shorten the course of disease, and significantly reduce the risk of developing into severe illness and death. In addition, the influenza vaccine is aimed at the influenza virus and cannot resist the infection of other pathogens of acute respiratory infection. In addition, it usually takes some time to produce antibodies with sufficient protective effect and level after vaccination. Therefore, even if you are vaccinated with influenza vaccine, you still need to take protective measures.
If you have influenza, pneumonia and other acute respiratory infections, you can also get flu vaccine after recovery to prevent influenza and other types of influenza. People who have not had time to get vaccinated can be vaccinated throughout the epidemic season, and early vaccination will benefit early.
Li Dong once said that compared with people who have not been vaccinated, the risk of infection of people who have been vaccinated is significantly reduced, and the symptoms after being infected with the flu will be lighter and the risk of severe illness will be lower. People who have been infected with influenza virus once can have some immunity to this infected influenza strain, but they have no protection to other influenza strains. At present, more than 99% of the strains prevalent in China are influenza A (H1N1). If you are infected once, you can get the protection of influenza A (H1N1) strains. Current influenza vaccines are generally trivalent or tetravalent. If you have been infected with influenza strains and then vaccinated, you can also get protection for other strains, such as influenza A (H3N2) and influenza B (B).
Wang Dayan said that the spread of influenza is related to many factors, including temperature, humidity, crowd gathering and crowd immunity. Influenza virus does not spread only in winter. After the influenza epidemic season, the spread of influenza virus will decrease, but it will not disappear, but will turn into a very low-level epidemic. In the southern provinces of China, there will be a high season of influenza in summer in most years, usually in June-July. With different geographical locations, the epidemic cycle of influenza can be expressed as one year, half a year or several months, while in tropical areas, influenza can be prevalent all year round. At present, most countries in the northern hemisphere are in the influenza epidemic season, so it is recommended to pay attention to prevent acute respiratory infections such as influenza during the Spring Festival.
People’s Daily (January 18, 2025, 05 edition)