Doctors offer advice amid the recent rise of seasonal flu cases
Officials from the Shanghai Center for Disease Control and Prevention said this round of type A flu peak may last until April, calling for public health awareness, and urging the promotion of vaccination.
Many hospitals reported an increase of flu patients in outpatient and emergency departments, with children and the elderly comprising the majority of patients.
Officials from Jiahui International Hospital said its flu patients increased two to three times. Doctors said many of the flu cases are children from the same class or school. In addition to the disease spreading among the group, the long-term home schooling due to the COVID-19 pandemic restricted children's contact with the outside, subsequently decreasing immunity, which may have contributed to the recent surge of flu cases.
Dr Jin Xin, director of Shanghai Yida Hospital's pediatrics department said winter and spring is the peak season for flu. Local pediatric departments are seeing a rise in flu patients, mainly children between 5 and 8 years old. The usual period for fever is three days, and patients usually recover on their own.
"The symptoms of flu and COVID-19 are similar. People mainly have fever, overall pain and headache. Some can have slight respiratory symptoms like coughing and throat pain, but their senses of taste and smell are not impacted," Jin said. "Flu is contagious, so we suggest parents take their children for a follow-up check after the fever is over, and decided whether the child can return to school."
Dr Jin Xin, director of Shanghai Yida Hospital's pediatrics department checks a child patient with flu-like symptoms.
Experts said vaccination is an important measure for flu prevention and control.
Children and the elderly are the most vulnerable due to their weak immunity, especially the elderly with underlying diseases. They are more likely to develop serious symptoms after catching the flu and other viruses, experts said.
Guo Xiang from Shanghai CDC's immunization program institute said the elderly are especially vulnerable to infectious diseases like the flu, pneumonia and shingles, noting that vaccination is the most effective, economic and simplest measure for infectious disease prevention and control for the elderly.
"During the aging process, people's immunity drops, facing the threat of multiple infectious diseases. Elderly people usually face underlying diseases and infectious diseases. For people catching the same infectious disease, the rate of hospitalization, mortality and medical expenses for the elderly are much higher than younger people. So we strongly encourage eligible old people to undergo vaccination for the flu, pneumonia and shingles," Guo said.
