Respiratory tract infection

“About 1 in 4 people who have had a cold or other respiratory infection will have a lingering cough”

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca reported an increase in nationwide intensive care unit occupancy rates compared to the previous year, noting an overall 72 percent rate across Türkiye but a heightened 83 percent rate in Istanbul.

Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has spoken about the surge in upper respiratory tract infections, revealing that Istanbul saw the biggest increase in cases in Türkiye.

Answering the questions of journalists after a cabinet meeting, Koca said that the current increase of infections was expected due to the seasonal conditions of winter months and that there was no cause for worry.

Deputy Health Minister Irini Agapidaki has advised parents not to send their children to school if they exhibit symptoms of a respiratory infection.

With a surge in viral infections seen amid the ongoing cold and damp winter weather, an infectious diseases specialist has warned of a "virus potpourri," as the number of patients in emergency units with upper respiratory tract infections has doubled in recent days. 

As the weather gets colder, influenza cases have been on the rise lately in the country, with patients complaining of prolonged coughs, bronchitis and recurring infections, filling almost all outpatient clinics recently.

There is no concern, at least for now, in Greece regarding the surge of respiratory illness in China, according to the data received so far by the National Public Health Organization (EODY). 

China's health ministry announced on Sunday that the recent upsurge in respiratory illnesses, which has captured the World Health Organization's attention, is attributed to the influenza virus and other established pathogens rather than an unidentified novel virus.

The European Health Emergency Response Authority (HERA) has issued recommendations to pharmaceutical companies to increase production of antibiotics used to treat respiratory infections ahead of winter in an effort to avoid a recurrence of shortages, especially of amoxicillin and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid.

Schools will open as planned on Monday, the Education Ministry has confirmed, responding to speculation that the start of the new semester after the holiday break may be delayed by the spike in Covid and other respiratory infections among children recorded in recent weeks.