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Even if the new coronavirus no longer poses a threat, the world has not yet overcome the shock of the post-epidemic period. This year, various respiratory diseases have emerged, new coronavirus variants have invaded, hospital patients have increased sharply, and some countries with inadequate medical resources are beginning to collapse. This winter, the Italian flu and the new coronavirus variant circulated simultaneously, causing hospitalizations to increase by 30% compared to before the epidemic. Local media reported that from Milan to Rome to Naples there were emergencies where hospitals could not wait for beds.
Last fall, an outbreak of respiratory illnesses began in China that drew global attention. However, in fact, countries that had lifted lockdowns earlier had already experienced waves of epidemic storms. In the winter of 2022, a “triple epidemic” occurred in the United States. caused by COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus. Put pressure on hospitals. Australia in the southern hemisphere is also experiencing a particularly severe flu season. Even in the winter of 2023, the respiratory disease season in the United States will begin earlier than in previous years.
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The Italian epidemic is very strange
Now this pressure has also spread to Europe. According to local media statistics in Italy, in the week of December 21-27, 2023, there were 40,990 new cases of new coronary pneumonia in Italy. This number is down 32.2% compared to last week and the number of deaths for 279 people. But as COVID-19 cases decline, the flu epidemic increases and other viruses run rampant, hospitals and emergency rooms are overwhelmed.
More than 5.7 million cases of influenza were reported in Italy in the fourth quarter of last year. In the week before Christmas, the influenza epidemic curve showed an incidence rate never seen in previous seasons. Local doctors said it was the worst influenza epidemic in 15 years. Local media described hospital emergencies as very serious and occurred in many major cities in Italy. From Rome, Turin, Milan to Naples in the south, medical resources were lacking.
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Entire cities are overwhelmed with respiratory influenza and COVID-19 cases, emergency rooms are in chaos and on the verge of collapse. According to the Italian Association of Emergency Medicine and Emergency Care, the worst situation is in Rome and the surrounding area, where more than 1,100 patients are waiting to be admitted and ambulances parked outside emergency rooms are being used as extra beds for patients.
In the northern Italian regions of Piedmont, Lombardy and the capital Milan, normal hospital admissions have been suspended to free up beds for patients who need urgent help. Naples is treating a steady influx of COVID-19 patients. The situation in Italy prompted epidemiologist Eric Feigl Ding to say on social media that “something very strange is happening in Italy.”
The world has not yet escaped the haze of the new coronavirus
The same applies to the United States. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, influenza illnesses, including non-influenza viruses like coronavirus, are at very high levels across the United States. Dr. Peter Chin Hong, an infectious disease expert at the University of California, San Francisco, said that all respiratory viruses are raging, the respiratory syndrome virus (RSV) has not really declined yet, and influenza is only increasing every now and then. The new coronavirus caused by new variants -Epidemic is spreading. The peak of the epidemic has not yet been reached.
COVID-19 remains the leading cause of new hospitalizations and deaths related to respiratory infections in the United States, killing about 1,000 people each week. Scientists say that after the COVID-19 vaccination campaign in recent years, countries around the world are now very hesitant to vaccinate. However, in the face of successive viruses, controlling the number of hospitalizations is crucial, and vaccinations are still the best line of defense to prevent the collapse of medical resources. .
(First image source: Unsplash)
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