More than 40 athletes infected, WHO warns! Latest situation in Hunan →
2024-08-09
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The World Health Organization recently warned
During the Paris Olympics
There are at least40Athletes
Infection with the new coronavirus
and other respiratory pathogens
The international community should pay attention
The unusual increase in COVID-19 infections in summer
COVID-19 vaccination recommended for most at-risk groups
Maria Van Kerkhove, acting director of the World Health Organization's Epidemic and Pandemic Preparedness and Prevention Department, warned at a press conference in Geneva on the 6th thatData from more than 80 countries show that the number of people infected with the main COVID-19 pathogen, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has continued to increase in recent days.
The World Health Organization logo and the WHO headquarters building (data map). Source: Xinhua News Agency
According to overseas media reports,Health agencies can analyze the spread of the virus based on wastewater monitoring data and predict the shortage of hospital beds for treating COVID-19 patients two to three weeks in advance.According to Van Kerkhove, wastewater monitoring data shows that the spread of SARS-CoV-2 is "two to 20 times higher than what has been reported." It is unusual for the new coronavirus to have such a high rate of transmission in the summer, as other respiratory viruses usually thrive in the cold season.
It is reported that the current global COVID-19 positive detection rate is slightly over 10%, and the positive detection rate in Europe is slightly over 20%. Van Kerkhove reminded: "COVID-19 is still not far away from us." She is worried that given the current low vaccination rate and high transmission rate of the virus, if a more powerful COVID-19 variant emerges, the risk of severe illness in high-risk groups after infection is "huge."
The World Health Organization called on governments to strengthen emergency preparedness and vaccinate the most at-risk groups with COVID-19 and influenza vaccines.
According to statistics from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, during the peak season of infection with the Omicron strain of the new coronavirus in the United States in 2022, wastewater monitoring showed that the virus concentration was as high as 23 times the baseline level. The concentration of the new coronavirus monitored nationwide in the United States in April and May this year was slightly higher than the baseline level, but it has risen to 7 times the baseline level in the past two months.
However, Andrew Pecos, a professor of microbiology at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, told The Washington Post on the 7th that "a large number of mutant strains" in the United States have similar mutations, which may indicate that the new coronavirus has limited ways of evolving."We don't have any data to suggest that the currently circulating (coronavirus) variants cause more severe disease."
Is the new coronavirus making a comeback during the dog days of summer?
Hunan maintains a relatively low level overall
Recently, many netizens posted photos of themselves with two "bars" on their COVID-19 antigen test results, saying they were having a sore throat, fever, and general fatigue. UN News disclosed on August 6 that the World Health Organization has issued an urgent warning, pointing out that the number of COVID-19 cases is showing a significant increase worldwide.
What is the situation in Changsha? On August 8, the reporter conducted an interview to find out.
Case: Infection with the new coronavirus during the dog days
Positive! Looking at the two bars on her COVID-19 antigen test kit, Changsha resident Ms. Zhao was a little surprised that she had been infected with the coronavirus in Changsha's scorching summer weather.
Changsha citizens posted positive COVID-19 test results on online platforms. Image source: Internet
Ms. Zhao said that she suddenly felt a sore throat while taking a nap on August 1. Her head felt heavy after waking up. She thought she had a cold from the air conditioning, so she didn't take it seriously.
As a result, she started to have a sore throat and runny nose the next day. On August 4, she had severe ringing in her ears and a fever of 39°C. She took ibuprofen to reduce the fever. Ms. Zhao rushed to the community health service center for treatment. After the doctor's consultation, he said that she might have been infected with the new coronavirus, but did not test her, but only prescribed some basic medicines.
On August 6, Ms. Zhao continued to have a fever, her sense of taste weakened, and she felt weak. In order to confirm her condition, she tested herself with a new coronavirus antigen test kit, and the result was positive.
"I am speechless about being infected with the novel coronavirus during the 'dog days'." As of the 8th, Ms. Zhao has not yet recovered, but her various discomfort symptoms have gradually eased.
Data: The positive rate of the new coronavirus has fluctuated slightly
Is the new coronavirus making a comeback this summer? On August 8, the reporter learned from medical institutions such as the Third Xiangya Hospital of Central South University and the Tianding Street Health Service Center in Yuelu District, Changsha that some new coronavirus-positive patients have been treated recently. Today, the reporter learned from the Hunan Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention that the overall level of the new coronavirus epidemic in our province remains low. The center recommends raising personal awareness of new coronavirus infection protection and preventing multiple diseases.
It is understood that since the implementation of new control policies for novel coronavirus infections, the epidemic situation in our province has shown an epidemic characteristic of a small peak every 3-5 months.
The number of reported cases increased slightly in July 2024, but remained at a low level overall. It decreased slightly last week, and the "surge" described by the World Health Organization has not yet occurred.
The high temperature and humidity during the dog days of summer, long periods of exposure to air conditioning, and large temperature differences between indoors and outdoors can easily lead to a decline in human immunity. Li Shenglu, deputy director and chief physician of the General Outpatient Department of Hunan Chest Hospital, said that the number of citizens who come to see a doctor with positive self-test results for the new coronavirus antigen has increased recently.
Li Shenglu reminded that the weather is hot and everyone stays in air-conditioned rooms. Indoor air circulation is poor, which promotes the reproduction of microorganisms and poses a potential threat to the health of residents. It is recommended to open windows for ventilation. Ventilation can be done 2 to 3 times a day, 30 minutes each time, or once in the morning, noon and evening.
According to data released by the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the positive rate of influenza-like cases for the new coronavirus increased slightly from 6.2% in the 23rd week (June 3rd-June 9th) to 7.2% in the 26th week (June 24th-June 30th).
In June 2024, 31 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps reported a total of 6,275 local cases of novel coronavirus genome sequences, all of which were Omicron variants. The main prevalent strains were JN.1 series variants.
According to the sampling date, in the past four weeks, the proportions of JN.1 and its subbranches were 72.5%, 66.4%, 64.6%, and 67.5%, respectively, and the proportions of XDV and its subbranches were 25.1%, 31.0%, 32.9%, and 31.4%, respectively.
Link: XDV variant was first proposed
On June 11, the China CDC released the national epidemic situation of novel coronavirus infection in May 2024, and proposed the XDV variant for the first time.
The announcement shows that according to the latest version, my country has divided the JN.1 variant of the new coronavirus that has been monitored into 47 sub-branches, including XDV, and named and counted XDV separately. However, existing research results show that compared with the JN.1 variant, the transmission, pathogenicity and immune escape ability of the XDV variant have not changed significantly.
The increase in published cases suggests that the new variant may be different from previous ones.
"The XDV mutant can still spread in high temperature environments, but judging from the relatively mild symptoms of outpatient patients, there is no need to panic too much. Just take normal protective measures." Hu Yang, chief physician of the respiratory department of Shanghai Pulmonary Hospital, said in an interview with the media.
What to do if you are infected with COVID-19?
If you have symptoms such as fever, fatigue, cough, loss of smell and taste, it is recommended that you first use a pathogen detection test strip to perform a self-test. If the symptoms are mild, you should isolate and rest at home, and you can take some heat-clearing and detoxifying drugs.
Before taking medicine on your own, you must make sure that the medicine is within its shelf life. Expired medicines will not only fail to treat the disease, but will also delay the disease and even cause new harm. Read the instructions carefully before taking the medicine. If there are any contraindications or concerns about the use of the medicine, you can consult a professional.
When giving children cold medicine, especially combination cold medicine, it is important to understand whether the drug ingredients overlap with other drugs used at the same time to avoid harm caused by overdose.
Elderly people with chronic underlying diseases should not stop taking long-term chronic disease treatment medications at will after being infected with the new coronavirus to ensure that the condition of the underlying disease remains stable.
If the fever persists or self-medication is ineffective, and the symptoms worsen, seek medical attention as soon as possible. Especially for patients with chronic underlying diseases and the elderly, timely medical treatment can reduce the occurrence of severe cases.
Source: Xinhua News Agency, People's Daily Health, Sanxiang Metropolis Daily
Editor: Wang Yaobing
