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.
IN ITALY – According to data released by the Influnet network of the Istituto Superiore di Sanità, the Italian influenza surveillance network, the number of cases of flu-like syndromes is growing considerably in Italy. In the 47th week of 2022, between 21 and 27 November, the incidence was 12.9 cases per thousand assisted (9.5 in the previous week). Pediatric age groups are most affected, especially children under the age of five, with an incidence of 40.8 cases per thousand assisted.
For those who contract the flu, the symptoms are always the same: high fever, cough, cold, which can lead to bronchial problems or more serious pathologies. "It is clear - says the head of the laboratory, Caterina Serra - that the higher the number of infections, the higher the number of people at risk could be, which can also have serious consequences".
The Sassari laboratory, as required by the InfluNet & RespirVirNet protocol, as in the past flu season, also this year has started surveillance for other respiratory viruses such as the syncytial virus (RSV), the Rhinovirus, the Parainfluenza virus, the Coronaviruses other than SARS-CoV- 2, Adenovirus and Metapneumovirus.
The advice to avoid contracting them is still to use masks and sanitize your hands as well as, of course, to carry out the flu vaccination .
«From the general data available – continues Caterina Serra – it emerges that the prevalence, about 92 percent of cases of flu, is given by the type A virus subtype H3N2 and to a minimum extent H1N1. Only in 2 cases, instead, it was influenza from type B virus, lineage B/Victoria.
The teacher then points out that «at the moment, the genetically characterized strains seem to have the characteristics of viruses included in the composition of this year's vaccine. Those who are vaccinated have good coverage ».
(Unioneonline/vl)
