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Il Climate change and that Antibiotic resistance They open doors for you new virus wave which we will have to deal with from 2024, the year in which Italy will host, among other things, the G7 summit, an occasion in which the world’s great giants will inevitably have to put the issue of health at the center of the debate. After the pandemic, the challenge for the next few years is not just Covid, but increasingly there are and will be pathogens that have never been seen before in Europe or are in any case considered very rare.
You explained it well to Adnkronos Roberto Parrella, new president of SimitItalian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases and Director of the Department of Respiratory Infectious Diseases of the Cotugno Hospital in Naples, Matteo BassettiDirector of Infectious Diseases at the San Martino Polyclinic Hospital in Genoa, e Francesco VaiaDirector of Prevention at the Ministry of Health.
Covid
Speaking of Covid (here are the most widespread symptoms at the moment): the battle is not yet won. “When the WHO declared the end of the state of emergency for Sars-CoV-2, a number of measures and obligations were abolished – explains Parrella – and this may have created false expectations among the population” (here are the masks). still mandatory until June 30, 2024).
The problem now is this The virus circulates and mixes with other potentially dangerous respiratory virusesHowfluwhich is hitting particularly hard this year, with millions of Italians in bed and emergency rooms in disarray in several cities.
On Covid, data increased in November, reaching 1,000 hospitalizations with symptoms and 307 deaths, or about 40 per day. “Today, Covid and other respiratory viruses can be confused and overlap.” As is often the case with respiratory diseases caused by various viral and bacterial infectious agents, such as: Mycoplasma pneumoniae and that Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in children, causing the dreaded bronchiolitis.
But Parrella reassures: “These are numbers that should not, however, scare us, but put us in a situation that is now more delicate for the weak, who are exposed to more risks than the entire population.” Hence the need Vaccination of the fragile and immunocompromised categories.
The problem of antibiotic resistance
The problem today is that we are dealing with more infections and more and more antibiotic-resistant bacteria, as Prof. also explained in an interview with QuiFinanza. Fabrizio Pregliasco. Bassetti describes it as a “real nuisance” because it occurs almost every year 5 million deaths in the world and at least 40,000 in Italy alone. “A topic that brings together many different areas,” explains Bassetti to Adnkronos, from human medicine to veterinary medicine and agriculture, because antibiotics are used in many different areas and a new awareness of this is needed in all of them. This is the real problem until in the next 20 to 25 years.”
Short term There are only a few new antibiotics that can fight so-called superbugs, super strong bacteria with potentially disruptive violence that resist any kind of therapy. “We have to make the most of what we have at our disposal, trying to use them as best as possible when they are needed, with a whole range of recommendations also to the population, to use them in the right dosage and with the to use the correct dosage rate when they are really needed.
However, there is also a need for antibiotic resistance new awareness among doctors“Because they use these drugs too often carelessly and the ease with which many doctors use these antibiotics may not explain the extent of the problem,” Bassetti further emphasizes.
As Parrella explains, there is a national plan to combat antibiotic resistance that includes four areas: training, information, transparency and research innovation, as well as national and international collaboration. “The pillars are surveillance and monitoring of antibiotics and abuse-related bacterial infections.”
Swine flu
Another virus we need to fight is thisSwine flu, which unfortunately we already have memories of. This year saw the first case of H2N1 swine flu in England. The swine flu triggered a pandemic in 2009 that caused millions of cases and many deaths worldwide. “It was an emergency,” explains Bassetti.
The H2N1 virus does not appear to have the characteristics of a pandemic, he says, “but this also needs to be closely monitored, because in the case of swine flu it would be an infection that obviously comes from animals.” World. Therefore, zoonoses in general represent a major problem as they are infections transmitted from wildlife to humans and this needs to be carefully monitored.”
Dengue, West Nile, bird and other climate viruses
The other viruses that we must always be more careful about are the “tropical” ones, linked to a climate that is “distant” for us, but also in Italy and on the ancient one due to the high temperatures that they bring Dangerous insects arrive on the continent: 2023 was the hottest year in history.
The Dengue fever, for example better known as mosquito malaria. “In Italy, dengue fever has become a virtually endemic disease and therefore risks becoming endemic in our country as well,” warns Bassetti. “The temperatures that we have become accustomed to in recent years have led to the presence of mosquitoes not only in the summer months but also in many other months, both spring and autumn.”
The same applies to the West Nile virusanother mosquito-borne disease: another zoonosis that passes through an intermediate host.
“Furthermore, one of the potential viral problems is the one that should be watched most carefullyBird: Cases of avian influenza continue to be reported in various animals, mammals and other species. It is clear that this virus mutates every time it infects a new animal, and we know what the changes in this type of virus mean. The future scenario is therefore unfortunately full of infection problems.”
A new generation of infectious disease specialists is being born
At this point the question arises: Will we have a generation of doctors in the future capable of studying, understanding and intervening in emerging infectious diseases? “We ended the Simit Congress with a careful engagement on these topics, from antibiotic resistance to zoonoses,” concludes Parrella. A new generation of infectious disease specialists is being born ready to address this type of emergency and I see them very energetic, ready to take action and raise awareness among the population.”
But a cultural change is necessary, emphasizes Francesco Vaia. We need “a systemic vision.”, which involves large parts of society, from school to family, from the workplace to the third sector world. A proactive approach that takes into account the complexity of the interventions required and actively works to promote the health of citizens throughout the life course: it is never too early, it is never too late and prevention is never enough.”
Starting with the little onesBecause, Vaia concludes, it has been proven that habits acquired in childhood have lasting effects on health throughout an individual’s life, as is the case with overweight and obesity in childhood right up to the elderly.
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