No big or excessive flu A is expected this year in Cyprus, due to the preventive measures taken to deal with the spread of the coronavirus, said to KYPE the Assistant Professor of Pediatrics and Infectious Diseases at the University of Cyprus and Chairman of the Special Committee for Pancyprian Medicine of the coronavirus, Maria Koliou, who noted that the coexistence of a new coronavirus and seasonal Influenza, without a doubt, contribute to causing greater problems in a patient.
Ms. Koliou, who is also a member of the Advisory Committee of the Ministry of Health, once again called on the people, and especially the vulnerable, to get the Influenza A vaccine, since as she said "if it happens to happen to the same person and Influenza A and coronavirus, then things become more difficult for him.
"We do not want both viruses to coexist in one patient, because they work together to cause problems for the patient," he said.
Seasonal flu can prove to be very mild this year
Asked if there have been any cases of Influenza A in Cyprus so far, Ms. Koliou said that the seasonal flu can prove to be very mild this year, due to the preventive measures taken to deal with the spread of the coronavirus.
He explained that the data available to Cyprus from some countries in the southern hemisphere are encouraging and show that the flu wave "was not particularly large, probably due to the measures taken to address the coronavirus".
"But there is a problem. If it happens to the same person and flu A and coronavirus, then things are more serious for the patient. We do not want both viruses to coexist in one patient, because they work together to cause problems for the patient. So there is one more reason to get the flu vaccine this year. "At least the vulnerable groups, recommended by the Ministry of Health," he said.
No incidents so far in Cyprus
He also noted that no cases of Influenza A have been recorded in Cyprus so far.
He also clarified that the seasonal outbreak of Influenza A begins every year in Cyprus either in early January or at the end of December, noting that "the only exception that existed for the last 9 years was in December 2018, when there was a bad outbreak, which started in December ".
However, he noted that "we have never had such an outbreak of Influenza AD except in very isolated cases."
No big or excessive Flu A wave is expected this year
Asked if the number of flu cases will be higher in the time of coronavirus, Ms. Koliou said that it may not be due to the preventive measures taken.
"And Influenza A," he said, "is a respiratory disease. The mask protects as well as the distancing that we ask in the case of the coronavirus and the open windows for good ventilation of the spaces. They are all respiratory diseases, so prevention is similar. Therefore, we logically do not expect to have a large and excessive wave of Influenza A, unless something unpredictable happens, such as in 2018 ".
Source: KYPE