Acute respiratory infections have multiplied by five in three weeks in Spain and the epidemic wave is on the rise, favored by a combination of factors. The increase in social interactions due to the holidays or low temperatures encourage the circulation of viruses. "The cold and dry environment also weakens the respiratory tract and facilitates transmission", explained to El món a RAC1 the section head of the infectious diseases service at the Hospital del Mar, Robert Güerri.
The infectologist urges the population to follow the recommendations issued on Monday by the Ministry of Health "in the face of the upsurge in flu and covid": wear a mask and avoid going to work when you have respiratory symptoms, cover your nose and mouth when coughing or sneezing or intensify hand hygiene. Other experts insist on the ventilation of closed spaces. Thousands of people have succumbed to the infections and thousands of people with symptoms must be wondering what virus is causing their discomfort.
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Throughout the season, and until a couple of weeks ago, the predominant virus has been the rhinovirus, which causes the common cold. The difference in relation to flu or covid is that usually the symptoms produced by the rhinovirus – which can consist of stuffy or runny nose, cough, sneezing, sore or irritated throat, general malaise, even mild fever – are not disabling and in most cases they do not require medical attention. But if the symptoms do not improve or there is a fever of more than 38.5ºC for more than three days, you must go to the doctor.
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Bacterial infections sneak into the virus soup. An example is pharyngitis, and symptoms can include a sore throat, fever, difficulty and pain when swallowing, swollen lymph nodes, joint pain or fever, among others. In Catalonia, 4,006 cases of streptococcal pharyngitis (35.9% of the total number of pharyngitis) and 349 cases of scarlet fever have been registered. Unlike viral infections, bacterial infections can be treated with antibiotics. Streptococcal pharyngitis disappears after three to seven days.
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Both covid and flu are respiratory diseases caused by a virus, SARS-CoV-2 in the first case, and influenza A and B viruses in the second. They all spread in a similar way and cause similar symptoms. Usually headache, muscle and neck pain, plus cough and fever. Sometimes nausea or vomiting, difficulty breathing and diarrhea. A distinctive symptom is that, unlike the flu, covid usually causes an early loss of taste and smell, often without a runny nose or stuffy nose. The symptoms of covid usually appear between 2 and 14 days after exposure to SARS-CoV-2, while those of the flu are declared between one and four days after infection. The two diseases differ in the causes that cause them, the complications in the patients and the treatment they require, but it is not possible to identify them only by the symptoms, which in both cases can be severe, mild or non-existent.
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Three years ago, antigen tests to identify the covid virus were expensive and there were few of them, but essential to face Christmas family gatherings with some peace of mind. Now its use is perfectly normalized and common. For less than three euros and in less than ten minutes, the current combined rapid nasal test for home use detects, with almost 100% accuracy, infections of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus and influenza A and B viruses One disease does not rule out the other: covid and both types of flu can coincide in the same patient.
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According to the latest assessment by the Department of Health, the flu virus is the most common in Catalonia (22.6% of samples), followed by rhinovirus (17.9%), SARS-CoV-2 (14, 6%) and respiratory syncytial virus (13.2%). A distinctive feature of the symptoms of RSV, one of the main causes of acute lower respiratory tract infection in children, is wheezing, a high-pitched sound that is usually heard when exhaling. According to the latest analysis by the Ministry of Health, in Spain, the group with the highest incidence of acute respiratory infections is that of children between the ages of zero and four, with 3,074 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 791 for the population as a whole.
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Identical symptomatology, but to a different degree. The influenza A virus is the most common and also the most damaging, as it can cause serious illness. Wild waterfowl are frequent carriers of this type of virus, which is transmitted to humans and has caused devastating epidemics throughout history. In contrast, influenza B affects only humans and the symptoms are milder, because the virus mutates two or three times more slowly than influenza A, thus allowing greater immunity to develop. The practically total disappearance of the flu (swallowed by covid) in the 2020-2021 season and its low incidence in the 2021-2022 season have caused a reduction in antibodies in the population. The incidence in Spain has been climbing for six weeks.
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Vaccines are a good way to prevent contagions or serious forms of respiratory infections. Many patients, however, have arrived late to the needle. The highest hospital admission rates for these diseases affect children under one year old and people over 80 years old, according to data from the Ministry of Health. These are segments of the population with an indication for immunization. In Catalonia, 333 people out of the 544 admitted for covid are over 70 years old. The vaccination rate against the coronavirus is 58%, and 65% against the flu in people over 80 years old.
