Vaccine-preventable diseases

An official flu epidemic has been declared in the Smolyan Region, prompting the implementation of temporary anti-epidemic measures set to be enforced from January 18 to 24, announced the Health Ministry on Wednesday. The decision is based on a notable surge in influenza and acute respiratory disease cases, reaching an epidemic average of 268.9 per 10,000 people in the region.

As the number of hospitalizations due to Covid-19 and influenza cases has risen sharply in recent weeks, doctors are warning the public to avoid crowded places, use masks, and get the flu vaccine to prevent contagion.

The number of patients received at fever clinics in medical institutions in China has witnessed a decline since New Year's Day. However, there is a possibility of a rebound in the COVID-19 infection epidemic in China in January, Chinese health authorities said on Sunday, China-based Global Times reported.

Professor Iva Hristova, head of Bulgaria's National Center for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCIPD), alerted the public to a concerning resurgence of health issues affecting schools. Speaking on bTV, she underscored a startling trend among COVID-19 patients, revealing that one in four experiences a rebound effect—a resurgence of symptoms around ten days after initial improvement.

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

The week before Christmas saw a sharp increase in cases of Covid-19, flu or flu-like symptoms and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) infections, the National Organization for Public Health (EODY) has said.

Amid concerns over measles outbreaks in neighboring countries, Bulgaria's Chief State Health Inspector, Angel Kunchev, highlighted the risk of measles spreading due to incomplete vaccination coverage.

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.

Due to the fact that even the first news about the coronavirus from China were vague and mysterious, and that no one could have guessed that a pandemic would occur, the news that a virus that attacks the lungs appeared in China and that caused hospitalization of large number of children went off like a bomb.

In order to prevent any epidemics, a research study by a group of infectious diseases and public health experts has cautioned that the fight against mosquitoes in the earthquake-affected areas should be carried out extremely thoroughly, especially in high-risk areas for malaria, such as Adana and Mersin provinces.