Flu, Covid and bronchiolitis cases almost double in Andalucía during lead-up to Christmas

Work and school Christmas parties, drinks round at friends and dinner with the family have all helped push up cases in recent days of respiratory infections in the region, including Covid, flu and the virus that causes bronchiolitis in babies.

The latest data published this week by the regional health service in Andalucía, which covers the key Christmas party days of 11 to 17 December, shows a doubling of the case rate to 460 people affected per 100,000 of the population. This was almost twice as high as the incidence rate from 4-10 December when 246 cases were recorded per 100,000 people.

Nationally, the picture in Spain is worse, however; between 11-17 December, the incident rate was 793.9 cases per 100,000 of the population. Since the start of November incidents of respiratory illness have been on the increase generally.

By age group, the highest rates of acute respiratory infections have been recorded in children under 4 years.

This past week has also seen an increase in the rate of positive results for flu and Covid-19 in routine tests carried out by the Andalusian hospital network, rising from 13.3% to 14.3% in the case of Covid and from 13% to 20% for flu.

Rocío Lorenzo, a specialist in Preventive Medicine at the Virgen de la Victoria hospital in Malaga city and the Serranía de Ronda hospital, pointed out that more socialising among family and friends indoors over Christmas has led to greater transmission of the viruses. As a result, it is expected that the amount of respiratory virus diagnoses will continue to rise over the coming days.

As a preventative measure, Lorenzo told SUR she strongly recommended a flu jab, "although the virus mutates pretty frequently, there is always a high percentage success rate with a vaccine".

Each year the vaccine is prepared with scientists' best estimates of what the dominant strains will be. Vaccines nowadays, explained the doctor, are quadrivalent, which means they combine four types of virus. Immunity can normally be achieved in 60 per cent of cases. " And if you get flu, it won't be as serious," she added.

In terms of the voluntary vaccination of children aged six months to four years and eleven months that has started in the Andalucía region this week, Lorenzo recommended parents vaccinate their children to protect them against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) which causes bronchiolitis in children.

Although she clarified that it is not really a vaccine, but monoclonal antibodies that activate a passive defence by the body which lasts long enough for them to be protected.

As well as this new RSV 'vaccine' roll out, the regional health authority has been offering infant flu vaccines since October.

Some 40 per cent of infants in the target group had had the vaccination by this week as the Andalucía region continued to offer turn-up-and-go vaccination centres on certain days at 62 sites across Malaga province this month.