Primary care sees a “second wave” of influenza due to an increase of type B

The primary care services of the communities have estimated that the indicators of seasonal influenza already point to a “second wave” brought about by an increase in type B, mainly in under 15 years of age, while other infections such as covid-19 remains stable and in a so-called “plateau” state.

This is evident from the weekly report of the Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance System (SIVIRA), with data from primary care and hospitals from February 13 to 19, and which shows that the rebound of influenza B that began at the end of January has already led to talk of “a second endemic wave”, leading to a slight increase in hospitalizations.

The overall rate of influenza (including type B) in primary care now registers a. incidence of 277 cases per hundred thousand population, i.e. higher than the endemic wave recorded at the end of last year (249) and mainly concentrated in children aged 0 to 14 years (824).

This has meant that the transmission rate for all respiratory diseases in Spain has increased to the 780 cases per hundred thousand inhabitants, with covid-19 with stable records (32).

As for the hospitalizations due to influenza, have risen so far this month from 2.1 to 2.8 cases per hundred thousand population and by age group, the highest admission rates are observed in those over 79 years of age (19.3).

Covid, on plateau

The covid-19 indicators, according to SIVIRA data and the weekly update from the Ministry of Health, indicate that. remain stable, with an incidence in the over 59 years of age stagnated in the range of 50 cases per hundred thousand population and a hospital occupancy rate of 1.5%, with a total of 1,888 patients, 95 of them in intensive care units (1%).

These data, according to the experts consulted, place the transmission of the virus in a “plateau state” with a progressive decrease in hospitalizations, although they add that Sars-CoV-2 continues to produce, albeit to a lesser extent, deaths in vulnerable population (48 in the last 7 days) and an aggravation of pathologies in vulnerable patients, beyond the condition causing the disease.

SIVIRA data estimate the hospitalization rate for covid-19 to be. 1.05 admissions per hundred thousand population and is progressively decreasing, mainly since January. Among those over 79 years of age, the hospital admission rate is 5.7 cases per 100,000 population.

The virus variant identified in the highest proportion since the onset of the respiratory infection season for 2022-23 is the sublineage of omicron BQ.1.1, which now accounts for 48% of the samples analyzed, followed by BA.5 (21%), another sublineage that triggered the seventh wave last summer.

Bronchiolitis

The rate of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which causes bronchitis, is located in 13.3 cases per hundred thousand population, when it reached its maximum peak (153) at the end of November last year with a main affectation in. children aged 0 to 4 years.

Currently, the rate of hospitalization for RSV infection stands at 0.9 cases per hundred thousand citizens, “remaining stable since the previous week”. and with those over 79 years of age (7.5 cases) as the group with the highest admissions, the report states.