To shareOur immunity has forgotten what the flu and SARS are. Therefore, the incidence of respiratory infections is increasing. Why the epidemic has come to Russia this year earlier than usual, what kind of flu is hitting Russians now and why “swine” flu is not swine at all, was explained to Fontanka readers by Dmitry Lioznov, director of the ‘Influenza Institute. Smorodintsev.
– Dmitry Anatolyevich, in Russia there is a special attitude towards “swine flu” – A (H1N1). It is feared no less than the coronavirus. There is hope that not he, but another flu A will come to us (H3N2), as happened in other countries?
– If you look outside our country, then in North America and Europe, the incidence is mainly caused by virus A (H3N2). Moreover, the scale of this incidence in a number of countries has reached the level of an epidemic. In our country the A(H1N1)pdm09-like influenza viruses predominate, which many, including journalists, mistakenly call “swine flu”. He’s not a pig and you shouldn’t scare people with him.
This influenza pathogen has been known to us since 2009, when it caused a pandemic. But since then, it gets there every year in the autumn-winter period and causes a seasonal increase in the incidence of influenza infection. And it’s quite humane – a common virus that causes the flu in us along with other strains.
– But it’s still called a pandemic – the official name is A (H1N1) pdm09.
– That’s just its name, it has been around for more than 10 years, causing seasonal increases in incidence.
– Because it’s more A (H1N1) when people in the northern hemisphere are infected with influenza A (H3N2)?
– I can assume that we have begun to travel less often to the countries of Europe and North America. And second: despite the fact that the incidence is in the southern hemisphere (the northern hemisphere usually orients itself on it and makes predictions. — Note. and.) caused the A (H3N2) virus, which arrived in Europe and North America, in a number of Asian countries during the summer increase in incidence only A (H1N1) prevailed. And perhaps the closer contacts of the Russians with these countries have led to the fact that we have an advantage over this virus.
– Contacts with other countries have been limited during the coronavirus pandemic. But we have seen how the spread of its new strains began after 1-2 months in our country, following Europe.
– Nobody says we don’t have flu viruses spreading in Europe. They exist, and virus A (H3N2), and influenza virus B. But the main causative agent of influenza is now virus A (H1N1).
“Usually, single flu viruses were detected in Russia in December. And now we’re probably talking about a more serious level of morbidity.
– Certainly not in that way. Isolated cases of flu could also be detected in early autumn. But an increase in the incidence of influenza infection was recorded in November-December, with a high level closer to the new year. And after the New Year holidays, an epidemic usually began. This year, the epidemic process is a little different from what we have observed in recent years.
It should be noted that last year, indeed, the registration of cases of flu and even outbreaks began at the end of the summer.
– Because?
“The earlier arrival of viruses in the population and the increase in incidence are natural. The reason is that for two years we practically did not get sick with the flu and SARS. Our immunity has managed to “forget” about these infections, the natural defense against them has weakened. On the one hand, we have acquired immunity to the coronavirus, on the other hand, we have become vulnerable to seemingly ordinary SARS – flu and others.
That is why we see such a high incidence abroad, where a new term for the epidemic has also appeared: tridemia: covid + influenza + RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).
It is possible that the influenza viruses and SARS-CoV-2 establish a “balance of power”. It takes time to figure out where all of this will lead, as the coronavirus continues to change.
— During the coronavirus pandemic, people are already used to doing their own coronavirus PCR tests. And now, when signs of SARS appear, they either go to the clinic and are prescribed tests there, or they themselves take smears. But conducting a flu study never occurs to anyone.
Where people go without a doctor’s referral is their own business. But if a person is admitted to a hospital with symptoms of acute respiratory viral infections, laboratory diagnostics is performed there to identify the causative agent of a respiratory infection, including influenza.
– Last year, the flu came and went when a new strain of coronavirus appeared – “omicron”. Won’t the same thing happen this year, for example, “Cerberus”, they say, we still don’t have enough?
– Last year, not only the flu came, but in general there was an epidemic increase in Russia, albeit a small one. But against the background of the rapidly spreading “micron”, it quickly ended. It is useless to speculate whether this will happen again. Moreover, in those countries where there is a “Cerberus”, and in those where it is not, they suffer from the flu. Should we wait for the disease to subside? Doubtful.
Although we have lost the flu habit over the last couple of years, we have to admit that it is and definitely will be. Compared to last year, when the epidemic thresholds for influenza and SARS were exceeded in some regions of Russia, now the number of cases is increasing, and hospital admissions are also growing in this regard.
And if so, it is necessary to vaccinate without delay. Let me remind you that pregnant women, the elderly and children, people with chronic diseases are at risk of a severe course of the disease with complications. Vaccination mainly prevents the development of these adverse effects.
And also, the more vaccinated in the region, the less likely it is to develop an epidemic. Herd immunity protects against a sharp epidemic increase.
