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After CovidThe flu might break records this winter
The virus is spreading at full speed both abroad and in Switzerland. At home, doctors are sounding the alarm, because our health system is already at the limit of its capacities.
Doctors fear the flu epidemic because of the overload it might cause on hospitals already damaged by two years of the Covid pandemic.
20min/Matthias Spicher
The flu is arriving at full speed in Switzerland and the reported cases are increasing sharply from week to week. “The figures for previous years at the same period have already been exceeded”, according to Simon Ming, spokesman for the FOPH, interviewed by “20 Minuten”. It is the 15-29 year olds who seem to be the most affected for the moment, and the most important outbreaks are mainly in Graubünden and Ticino.
Due to the end of barrier gestures
This seasonal flu starts earlier than usual, according to the medical profession. In question, the lifting of protective measures once morest Covid-19. “Protective masks and social distancing had prevented not only the Covid virus, but also that of the flu from spreading for the past two years”, explains Huldrych Günthard, infectious disease specialist at the University Hospital of Zurich. “Without these measures, these and other respiratory viruses now have free rein and people are getting sick.”
The most vulnerable population is babies and young children. Indeed, very protected during the pandemic, they have hardly been in contact with the flu virus and do not have the necessary immune defenses, explains the practitioner. “They are now getting infected and transmitting the viruses on a large scale.”
Since the beginning of November, the number of flu cases reported to the FOPH has continued to increase.
Return of the mask recommended
Good news though: this year’s strain isn’t particularly dangerous. But it will still put strong pressure on hospitals that will not be able to cope with an explosion of flu patients, explains Huldrych Günthard. “As many carers changed jobs during the pandemic and many beds had to be closed across Switzerland, the healthcare system is at the limit of its capacity. If many flu patients are added, hospitals may have to refuse their first patients, ”he fears.
The only ways to protect yourself from the flu: return to barrier gestures and the mask to prevent the spread of the flu. And get a flu shot, doctors advise.
( Thomas Obrecht/cht)