After surviving the coronavirus pandemic, many breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed that nothing could scare us anymore. However, at the beginning of 2024, a new and mysterious word “tridemic” entered our vocabulary. Oryol News talked about what it is, how Oryol doctors cope with a new challenge and much more with Svetlana Arkhipina, a candidate of medical sciences, associate professor of the Department of Internal Medicine at the Medical Institute of OSU named after I.S. Turgenev, and an infectious disease doctor of the highest category.
– Svetlana Anatolyevna, first of all, tell us what a tridemia is?
– Everyone is hearing about the coronavirus pandemic, which, fortunately, has ended – last spring, the WHO announced its end. However, during the Covid pandemic, other viruses have not gone away. It’s just that Covid crowded out all other viruses at the time of the pandemic. Now they have “raised their heads” – this is the same influenza virus, viruses of other acute respiratory viral infections. The result was a new, let’s say, concept of “tridemic”. It means that three different viral agents coexist with each other during this epidemic season. This is a coronavirus, an influenza virus – first of all, we now have the influenza A virus – and other viral acute respiratory viral infections. Today there are more than 200 ARVI viruses, but about 10 of them are common. This includes parainfluenza, adenovirus, rhinovirus and others. Accordingly, all these three viruses coexist with each other, fighting for a particular person. Hence the name “tridemia”.
– Does tridemia mean that a person can become infected with three viruses at the same time?
– It is not necessary for one person to have all three viruses or two of them at once. It is understood that during this epidemic season a person can become ill with coronavirus, influenza, and other acute respiratory viral infections. Either consistently, or we now have quite a lot of cases of mixed infections even in the hospital. For example, influenza plus coronavirus – such combinations are, let’s say, not uncommon in our country. So far, in practice, we have not encountered the disease with three infections at the same time, but theoretically it is possible.
I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the epidemic season is not over yet. It will end around March-April. Therefore, it is wrong to say that a person has already been ill and will not get sick again. If he has had coronavirus, he has a chance of getting sick from any other viruses.
– These three groups of viruses are now the most active, but in pre-Covid times several viruses circulated simultaneously. What has changed now?
– There was no covid then. In pre-Covid times, there were probably fewer mixed infections. Of course, there was pneumonia. Now Covid is layered on top of other infections, and this is always serious – immunity is greatly reduced, so people get more seriously ill if coronavirus is mixed with influenza or other viral infections.
– It turns out that today’s concerns are happening against the backdrop of coronavirus?
– Certainly. We must understand that coronavirus is always with us. He’s not going anywhere. Yes, those severe strains, for example “delta,” are no longer available. Now comes the “omicron”, but it is constantly mutating and adapting. He fights for a person. He needs to live somewhere, he doesn’t want to leave our population. The flu also “remembered” that it was there. There was no flu during the coronavirus period, because the coronavirus crowded out everything. He hid, and now he has “raised his head.” In fact, people experience pneumonia, whether after the flu or after Covid. There were no such numbers of pneumonia as complications of these mixed infections.
– Is the combination of influenza and coronavirus more dangerous than covid alone?
– Any combination of viruses will always aggravate the course of the disease, i.e. if it is one virus, then the disease will be more or less easier. With mixed infections, the likelihood of death increases.
Author: Freepik Company SL, Source
– What difficulties do doctors face during tridemia?
– Unfortunately, it can be difficult to differentiate these viruses clinically. We are accustomed to the “classics”. With the flu, it means body aches, a sharp rise in temperature to 39-40 degrees, pain in muscles, joints… This is the “classic” flu. Now we see that there is a fever, but for some reason almost all patients with the flu have a runny nose. I don’t remember this happening before. Naturally, with the coronavirus, we no longer see a bright “clinic”. It can be difficult to make a clinical diagnosis at the emergency room stage. Of course, the laboratory will help us. It is a big plus that we have the opportunity to differentiate these viral pathogens, since treatment tactics are different.
– Now to your hospital inpatient department. Are Botkin mostly unvaccinated?
– I think most of them are unvaccinated against either the flu or Covid. Plus, we now have a contingent with concomitant pathologies – patients with diabetes, patients with bronchial asthma, with heart pathologies. Against a burdened background, of course, any infection is more severe, plus decompensation of chronic diseases occurs, their exacerbation.
– Are the risk groups during the tridemic different from the groups in previous epidemic seasons?
– No. The risk groups are the same. These are patients with endocrine pathology (diabetes, obesity), patients with bronchopulmonary pathology (bronchial asthma). Of course, these are older patients who have a lot of concomitant and background pathologies. We have a lot of patients “80+”. These are the patients who truly deserve attention. Their pneumonia is quite severe.
– Svetlana Anatolyevna, tell us how to avoid getting sick during this difficult epidemic season?
– Much attention needs to be paid to issues of prevention. It is most important. It is clear that flu vaccination is carried out first before the incidence rises. This is usually September – October. Now time has passed. It is clear that this is not one hundred percent protection against the flu, but at least those vaccinated will not have complicated forms of this infection.
As for coronavirus vaccination, against the background of constant omicron mutation, previously created vaccines may no longer be so effective. Therefore, the most important thing is nonspecific prevention. Now we must not forget about masks, we need to wash our hands more often and use skin antiseptics. You can wear gloves in transport and other public places. You should also take multivitamins and strengthen your body. Again, you should avoid rooms with a large number of people, you need to have less contact with sick people. In addition, do not forget to ventilate the premises, and eat more fruits and vegetables.
Author: Regional News LLC, source
– Since Covid came and stayed with us, should we expect a repeat of the tridemic in the next epidemic season?
– Analysts are also predicting tetrademics in the future – something else may happen. Wait and see. But the fact that three viral agents coexist with each other is a proven and real fact.
– So, does it make sense to prepare for the next epidemic season?
– At the very least, it will be necessary to get vaccinated against the flu. In fact, the only way to protect against influenza is vaccination. And there are practically no contraindications to it.
– What is the current situation with viruses in your hospital? What about coronavirus? Measles?
– Cory, fortunately, no. Now we practically have a coronavirus hospital. Here are patients with influenza, patients with Covid, patients with mixed infections and other viral pathogens. As a rule, more than 90% of patients with pneumonia are complications. All other infectious patients are routed to Kromy.
Interviewed by Victoria Tikhomirova
2024-01-18 06:02:47
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