Winter illness: the common viruses, the differences between them and the emergency rooms that fill up

(live here in winter) - This winter, the emergency rooms in the hospitals are filling up quickly, which often report extremely high occupancy rates. Among the other factors are the seasonal viruses that infect many parts of the population, children, adults and the elderly, with the main ones being the RSV virus, the corona virus and the flu virus.

Winter 2024 - a snapshot

Director of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Bnei Zion Medical Center, Dr. Merav Slotaki: "We see more corona in the emergency room, both among the young and the elderly. In the elderly, we witness severe morbidity."

Director of the Department of Infectious Diseases at Bnei Zion Medical Center, Dr. Mirit Hershman Sarpov: "The respiratory morbidity observed this winter is mainly due to the corona virus, followed by the RSV virus, and only then the influenza virus. Adults or people with underlying illnesses suffer from a more severe illness, sometimes to the point of paralysis."

Director of children's screening at Bnei Zion Medical Center, Dr. Irena Chistyakov: "In the children's emergency department, we see few children with corona, most of them in a very mild condition. This year, we see few children with the flu, with most of the morbidity being in children with respiratory viruses, mainly RSV or other viruses. Some children under the age of 6 months are in a moderate-severe condition, needing respiratory support from A device, giving oxygen and giving fluids through the vein. There are also quite a few children with asthma attacks due to respiratory infections."

The corona is still here

At the Rambam hospital they say "Lahi Pa". Because the corona virus is still here and significantly more than last year. It is possible that the reason for this is that people are moving away from the vaccine. Along with this, the mix of viruses this year also significantly causes a lot of occupancy in the hospital.

The morbidity appears, as mentioned, in all ages and is also noticeable among the medical teams. And as always, the worst victims are the elderly and mostly immunocompromised, they are also the ones who most often come to the emergency room and are hospitalized. To this is added the lack of medicines for Corona, a very problematic thing that, as we know, may even cost human lives.

"Don't send sick children to preschools"

Dr. Rotem Lapidot, Acting Head of Unit - Children's Infectious Diseases at Rambam: "The common winter diseases are corona, RSV and flu. In children we see less corona. The thing we see in children the most is the RSV virus, which severely affects this group and people with underlying diseases. We see this virus in waves this season, the winter season , which is considered the peak season for these viruses.

It is important to note that 99% of children under the age of two are infected with RSV. As I mentioned, these are common viruses. It is, of course, possible to reduce infection by not exposing the baby to sick adults, especially older brothers and sisters. If there is a brother or sister with fluids in the house, then it is highly recommended not to allow them to get close to the baby's face and kiss him, and in general, you should always exercise discretion In this regard, the most important thing is not to send a sick child to the facilities," emphasizes Dr. Lapidot.

on the rise

Experts explain that the morbidity rate from corona, flu and RSV is on the rise this winter. These viruses, according to the doctors, may be manifested by fever, sore throat, cough and runny nose, therefore it is also difficult to distinguish between them based on the clinical signs alone. How will we still manage to differentiate?

find the differences

With the corona virus or the RSV, the symptoms develop gradually and the aggravation will appear a few days to a week later. In the flu, on the other hand, the symptoms will appear suddenly, develop quickly and manifest in fever, muscle aches and cough. The incubation period is also different, so if you were in the company of a corona or RSV patient the incubation period can be between three and six days, while the incubation period from exposure to the flu ranges from one to two days. In addition to the symptoms and the incubation period, it is important to understand that the RSV virus has no vaccine or medication, unlike the flu and the corona, for both of which there are effective, safe and life-saving vaccines.