WHO warns that this winter may witness a strong comeback for influenza in the Eastern ...

Nurse Lotfiye Samra checks a patient’s temperature at the Rjail Arbaeen Primary Health Centre in Saida, Lebanon, which functions as a site for influenza-like illness surveillance. Respiratory samples are collected from symptomatic patients and tested for influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory viruses. Information from this routine surveillance is important to inform national, regional and global actions on preparing and responding to respiratory viral diseases. © WHO Natalie Naccache. 9 November 2022 – Although the COVID-19 pandemic is not yet over, WHO is also now focusing on preparedness for the 2022–2023 influenza season, which is likely to be more severe this year, following a record low in cases over the past two winters. The impact of influenza and COVID-19 circulating at the same time is likely to be of concern for national health systems, particularly in protecting vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant women, older people and health care workers. The southern hemisphere in 2022, where the influenza season from March to September is now over, witnessed a rise in influenza cases. Based on this observation, it is expected that influenza will return to the same levels in the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region as before the COVID-19 pandemic, after it a decrease in cases in 2020 and 2021. Public health and social measures, such as mask wearing, hand sanitization and social distancing, not only hindered the wider spread of COVID-19, but also greatly...
Source: WHO EMRO News - Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news