The flu has arrived in Sassari . This was confirmed by the samples typed by the special virology laboratory of the local university hospital and communicated to the Istituto Superiore di Sanità.
At the moment there are 6 samples tested positive for influenza viruses among those analyzed in the laboratory directed by Professor Caterina Serra, which is a fundamental part of the Microbiology and Virology structure of the Aou of Sassari, directed by Professor Salvatore Rubino.
The laboratory, which is also the regional reference laboratory for the virological surveillance of influenza and other respiratory viruses "InfluNet& RespirVirNet", identified the influenza A/H3N2 virus in five samples belonging to children aged between one and twelve years , hospitalized in the structures of the Aou of Sassari. The sixth champion , on the other hand, belongs to a thirty-year-old woman . The samples were analyzed in the first weeks of November.
THE COMPARISON WITH THE PAST – The situation in comparison with the previous flu seasons is very different: those relating to the last three years, and therefore 2019-2020, 2020-2021 and 2021-2022, had a very low incidence. The years further back, then, show a peak of the flu located in the second or third week of February , a typical period of maximum diffusion also in Sardinia, and therefore certainly not in November.
«This year is very different – underlines Professor Caterina Serra – with a very high incidence since November . A similar situation was recorded only in 2009, that is, in the H1N1 pandemic period». The systematic use of the mask and the lockdown have blocked the flu virus in recent years. «Protective devices – adds the teacher – have safeguarded us from SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses. The easing of these measures has once again allowed these viruses to circulate. It should be added that those who have never had the flu vaccine have not developed antibodies and those who, on the other hand, have not had it again in recent years find themselves with a much lower coverage.
