(Taiwan English News / Zhu Mingzhu Comprehensive Foreign News Report) The three epidemics of new crown pneumonia, influenza and respiratory fusion virus (RSV) have broken out, and the epidemic situation in the United States has reached a stalemate. California and North Carolina have reported bad news one after another this week, and some children are unfortunately unfortunate Died from flu complications.
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WRAL-TV、ABC News 4、The News & Observer The California and North Carolina Departments of Health and Human Services confirmed Monday and Wednesday, respectively, that the state had recorded the first child death this year from complications from the flu, and North Carolina’s case was the first since 2020. However, due to privacy, the health unit has not released other information such as the age and gender of the cases.
The new crown pneumonia (COVID-19) epidemic has been raging around the world for nearly three years. Since this year, countries have successively announced that they will coexist with the virus, and have begun to relax border control, lifting the ban on masks and other epidemic prevention measures. All infectious diseases that have not caused a pandemic in these years have made a comeback, including influenza. , RSV, enterovirus, adenovirus and parainfluenza.
With the arrival of winter, the new crown pneumonia epidemic has not stopped, and it has entered a good period for influenza and RSV. Many hospitals in several states in the United States are crowded with “three epidemics” patients. There are more than 1,800 flu cases statewide, with nearly 100 people hospitalized, according to a California health unit tally last week.
The number of flu and RSV cases in North Carolina has also increased significantly from the same period in previous years. There were 210 reported cases of the flu at the University Hospital in Chapel Hill alone last week, double the number from the previous week, according to the University of North Carolina Health Care. The total number of RSV cases also increased to 244, two-thirds of which were children. Duke University Medical Center admitted 155 flu patients in the last week of October, but only 31 in the previous week.
Meanwhile, WakeMed, a large hospital campus, had 656 flu cases in the last week of October, a 300% jump from the previous week; another 157 new RSV cases.
Public health experts have warned that while most cases of COVID-19, influenza and RSV may have only mild symptoms, when the “three epidemics” strike at the same time, millions of people may be sickened and hospitals will be overwhelmed.Therefore, we call on the public to get vaccinated as soon as possible, especially for high-risk groups. Although the new crown and influenza vaccine cannot prevent 100% infection, they can still reduce the risk of severe illness and death
Experts remind that in the face of several infectious diseases at the same time, it is already expected that this winter will be very difficult. In addition to reminding eligible people to get vaccinated as soon as possible, they should also establish good personal hygiene habits, including washing hands with soap and water, sneezing and coughing. Cover with toilet paper when you are sick, and recuperate at home when you are sick or have a fever to avoid spreading the virus.