The Balearic Ministry of Health reiterated today, Thursday, its general recommendation to get vaccinated and wear a face mask when experiencing symptoms, given the increase in the incidence of flu, which has risen from 37.3 to 65 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in one week, an increase of almost 75%. These figures, as reported on Thursday by the department headed by Manuela García, keep the islands in a medium-level epidemic scenario.
Across the country as a whole, cases of flu detected in primary care have increased by 103.2% in one week, reaching a rate of 349.5 infections per 100,000 inhabitants - the previous week there were 172 cases per 100,000 inhabitants - with a particularly significant increase in children and adolescents. This is according to the latest epidemiological bulletin from the Carlos III Health Institute, which shows a continuing upward trend in all respiratory infections (flu, COVID-19 and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes bronchiolitis) between 1 and 7 December.
The Balearic government has explained that the Autonomous Committee on Infectious Diseases has confirmed that the AH3N2 subtype is predominant in the sentinel network, while respiratory syncytial virus and COVID-19 pathogen remain at low levels. Last week, the Ministry of Health and the autonomous communities agreed on a Protocol of Recommendations that establishes four risk scenarios, and the Balearics remain in scenario I, which includes the use of face masks if symptoms are present and in vulnerable or crowded spaces.
The latest data suggest that the spread of the seasonal virus has been brought forward by about four weeks, which could place the peak of the epidemic during the Christmas holidays, which is why the Health Department insists on vaccination to ensure high coverage. The Directorate-General for Public Health has also sent a guide to social and health centres with prevention and control measures for acute respiratory infections, while the Health Service is maintaining a contingency plan that provides for 215 additional beds in public hospitals and 40 more in the Sant Joan de Déu hospital in Palma.
The Primary Care Management of Mallorca will reinforce home care from Friday afternoon to Monday morning to ensure care capacity during the advance of the epidemic wave.
In the UK, hospitals in are facing a "worst case scenario" from a wave of super flu, healthcare bosses warned on Thursday, as flu hospitalisations jumped 55% in a week. Health leaders have told people who feel ill to wear face masks when using public transport, while some hospitals are requiring masks be worn, and more people are being urged to book a flu jab as the virus sweeps through the country. NHS England said that an average of 2,660 patients were in a hospital bed with flu last week, the highest ever level for this time of year, up more than half in a week, in what it described as an "unprecedented wave of super flu".
"The numbers of patients in hospital with flu is extremely high for this time of year," Professor Meghana Pandit, NHS National Medical Director, said in a statement. "Even worse, it continues to rise and the peak is not in sight yet, so the NHS faces an extremely challenging few weeks ahead." Europe as a whole has been grappling with an unusually early and severe flu season, with health authorities across the continent warning of rising cases driven by a mutated strain of the flu.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control said last month detections were rising "much earlier than usual" and urged vulnerable groups to get vaccinated "without delay." In Britain, a planned five-day strike by resident doctors - qualified physicians who make up nearly half of the medical workforce - is due to start on December 17, adding more pressure to an already stretched healthcare service. To try to stop the strike, health minister Wes Streeting presented the union with a new package of working conditions on Wednesday, which they are currently considering.