influenza and the new coronavirus may be superimposed on it?
" The world is still facing the risk of the spread of the new crown epidemic and the influenza epidemic, especially this winter. " On November 1, Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering Zhong Nanshan said at the 2022 "World Influenza Day" Science Popularization and Academic Conference that during the new crown epidemic, we still need to strengthen research on scientific issues of influenza prevention and control.
Chinese Academy of Sciences Academician Dong Chen also said that the world is still facing a high risk of superimposed epidemics such as influenza and new coronary pneumonia, and the prevention and control of respiratory infectious diseases is a long way to go.
"Since June this year, a new round of interasteric influenza epidemics in Europe, and at the same time, the United States also experienced an unprecedented epidemic of avian infection with H5N1, with extremely high risk of spillover and infection of humans. Therefore, the superposition of influenza and new crown is a very big challenge we face this winter and next spring." Academician of the Chinese Academy of Sciences Gao Fu pointed out that the current level of new crown vaccination has gradually increased, but the influenza vaccination rate is generally low.
Many experts reminded at the meeting that special attention should be paid to the respiratory infectious disease epidemic this winter. So, why is there a high possibility of superimposed popularity this winter? How to deal with the possible superimposed popularity?
The flu epidemic has a "head up" trend
Due to the implementation of COVID-19 prevention and control measures, monitoring data from the past two years showed that the epidemic level of influenza has been at a low level. But the situation is gradually changing.
"The global influenza intensity has changed in recent period." World Health Organization Global Influenza Program Zhang Wenqing introduced that at the beginning of the new crown epidemic, the epidemic situation of influenza was in a very weak state all over the world, , but the change occurred in the second half of 2021. Monitoring showed that the activity of influenza increased by , whether in the northern hemisphere or the southern hemisphere, this is true in many countries.
A bigger change occurs in the winter of the southern hemisphere in 2022. "In some countries in the southern hemisphere, the activity of influenza is higher than before the outbreak of the new crown epidemic." Zhang Wenqing said that this indicates an important question, that is, will the subsequent influenza season in the northern hemisphere also have a seasonal peak affected by the new crown epidemic, just like the southern hemisphere.
Talking about the reasons for this change, Gao Fu said that one of the possible reasons is that in the past three years, the world has been under the implementation of public health measures, and the overall population has weak immunity to the influenza virus. Recently, some countries have relaxed public health policies. Under this situation, there is a high possibility that a new subtype of the influenza virus will appear. At the same time, the influenza vaccination rate is lower, which also causes the situation where the influenza virus is more likely to become prevalent.
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Respiratory virus should become the focus of infectious disease prevention and control
"The new coronavirus and influenza virus are both respiratory viruses. Respiratory virus infection often has a short incubation period, rapid transmission, wide transmission range, strong transmission, high incidence, and difficult to control." Zhong Nanshan pointed out that once the epidemic caused by respiratory viruses breaks out, it often leads to serious public health incidents , and thus becomes the focus of prevention and control in global infectious diseases.
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How to effectively deal with the possible overlay popularity?
Zhong Nanshan believes that basic research and clinical research have important scientific and practical significance in the diagnosis, treatment and control of respiratory viruses. In the new crown epidemic, we will promote basic research on pathogenesis mechanisms and accelerate the research and development of rapid clinical diagnosis methods, providing an important basis for the prevention and control practice of clinical epidemics and the judgment of disease prognosis.
Scholars from different regions such as Russia and the United Kingdom jointly believe that 's prevention and control experience during the COVID-19 epidemic is worth learning from . For example, the development of rapid and accessible diagnostic methods may play a crucial role in preventing and controlling the influenza epidemic.
is also worth learning from. The relevant research results achieved during the COVID-19 pandemic.
"In recent years, my country has achieved landmark series of achievements in respiratory virus research." Dong Chen said that basic research has made progress in respiratory viruses, pathogenesis, structural biology, immunology, cross-species transmission and infection pathogenic mechanisms, clinical treatment, vaccines and drugs and antibodies, and has formed a good technical reserve, which can provide guidance for influenza prevention and control strategies.
Source: Science and Technology Daily
