‘In the past’ we didn’t know better: in the winter season all kinds of respiratory infections were given free rein. Also logical: in the colder season we live closer and closer to home. But it was completely different during the corona pandemic: Back then it was above all the Covid-19 that struck the clock.
No droplet infections
Take the flu, for example, which is caused by influenza viruses. During this time – just before Christmas – in 2020 we sat five feet apart and washed our hands.
The flu was barely there. Same thing last year. Virologist Meijer: “All corona measures were very effective at the time, even against other droplet infections.”
At the end of February 2022 – when the country reopened – he was suddenly there again. Much later than usual, the unfortunate flu sufferers still ended up with tremors, coughs and body aches in the rag bin.
Glass sphere
This year the flu is acting old fashioned again. And that means the number of patients is now on the rise. Especially the type B influenza virus seems to be something Faster than in the last few seasons before corona. But one season is just heavier than the next. Meijer: “It was the same in 2017/2018”.
Predicting whether it will indeed be an above-average flu season is what virologist RIVM calls “looking into the crystal ball.” “Especially because those models only now seem to somehow recover.”
RS virus
This is also the case with the RS virus. This is a highly contagious virus that strikes every year. Meijer: “Infants up to 1 year of age in particular can develop severe complaints, especially shortness of breath.”
RS is rarely fatal in the Netherlands. At first it looks like a cold. The virus spreads through the air through coughing or sneezing. This is also a typical virus that peaks in the winter. Except in corona time.
In the first corona winter, that virus was also practically absent, but in the summer of 2021, against all the usual patterns, it reared its head in all its violence. “Due to the lifting of the coronavirus measures, the virus has had the opportunity to spread at an unusual time.”
How long is the curve?
It’s been official for a few weeks RS-epidemic and in terms of pace, an increase in the number of sufferers similar to that of the summer can be seen. Meijer: “The question is, how long will the curve continue to rise? If you look at the traditional duration of such a wave, I expect it to peak next week. Then it will decline again and it should be somewhere in February, between week 6 and 8 once again must have fallen away.”
What is striking: Compared to the pre-corona winters, the RS peak is now earlier. “Infants and children up to 2 years old may be more susceptible, because they haven’t had to deal with it yet. So a virus like that can spread more easily.”
Pediatrician Károly Illy, president of the Dutch Children’s Association, also sees that initial spike. He says: “The vast majority of children suffer only from colds and coughs. A small majority end up in the emergency room of a hospital.”
He outlines, “They suffer from shortness of breath and sometimes need extra oxygen. Or they lose so much energy in breathing that they no longer get enough nourishment. Or both.”
Surprised by the initial peak
There was already a peak in Dutch hospitals every winter before the corona virus. “In terms of intensity, the picture is now comparable to the one before the corona virus. We are a bit surprised by the beginning, normally the center of gravity is in January.”
But hospitals can handle it, Illy says. “It happens that a child arrives, for example, at hospital A, but there is no place in the children’s ward. So one looks for a place in a nearby hospital. But it happens every year, so normally only a little later. not I still have to transfer the children abroad.”
Illy and his colleagues also see sick children with the flu appear, but RS clearly predominates. And then there’s that brother – or sister – of the RS virus: hMPV. In hospitals, this plays a much smaller role, says pediatrician Illy.
RIVM sees hMPV circulating in society. The virologist Meijer: “That virus can be a little more serious in slightly older children, approximately between 1 and 5 years”.
In summary: yes, we crybaby much of. And yes: it seems a bit embarrassing, even Meijer understands. “The cartridges were pretty messed up. But they seem to be recovering.”
Not like in Germany
He concludes: “Schools will close shortly during the Christmas season, which has an inhibitory effect on the spread. Families get together more often. We will monitor how everything develops this winter.”
Meijer does not foresee a situation like in Germany. There, President Christian Karagiannidis of the German Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine told the Rheinische Post on Saturday: ‘The disease rate among the population is currently extremely high, I have never experienced anything like this.’ .
