Two weeks before the end of 2023, in Yucatán, in the 2023-2024 season< /span>deaths< /span> associated with respiratory illness, reported the federal Ministry of Health. there is confirmation of 78 positive cases and two types of influenza.
According to data from the Epidemiological Surveillance System for Viral Respiratory Diseases of the federal agency, as of December 14 (epidemiological week 50), 78 positive cases have been confirmed in the entity resulting from the care of 1,896 cases of Type Illness. Influenza/Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (ETI/SARI).
Compared to last year, when, at the same cut-off (Epidemiological Week 50), positive cases of respiratory disease have increased by 27.3%, since at that time 55 infections were reported. By then there was confirmation of a death.
In this season, the predominant viral type is influenza AH1N1, present in seven out of 10 infections. While, in the 2022-2023 season, the strain that predominated was AH3N2.
With the start of the seasonal influenza season, at the beginning of October, the application of the vaccine against this respiratory disease began, which is available for free in the Health Centers of the Ministry of Health (SSY) and Medicine Units. Family (UMF) of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS).
Given the current influenza panorama, medical specialists insisted on the importance of vaccinating the population with the highest risk of contagion and development of complications, especially given the upcoming start of winter, the season in which the highest number of cases occur.
“The influenza virus represents a health hazard. We must be aware that this virus is unpredictable due to its easy evolution/mutation and becomes fatal if the necessary prevention is not available or, failing that, it is not treated in time. We observed this unpredictability during the 2023 interseasonal season (April-September), during which the most widely circulating strain began as type B; As the weeks progressed, it changed to influenza AH1N1; and it closed reporting cases of AH3N2,” explained Dr. Alejandro Macías, internal infectious disease specialist, in a conference broadcast via the Internet from Mexico City.
The academic from the University of Guanajuato added that, as the influenza season progresses, cases will continue to grow and, therefore, risk groups must get vaccinated as soon as possible to obtain the benefits that it can bring.
TYT Newsroom
