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The flu season has long since begun. Now there is also the first case of influenza B in Austria. But it will be a while before it becomes endemic.
The coronavirus seems to have been overcome—at least for the time being—but with the decline in COVID-19 cases, other viruses have come to the fore. Above all, rhinoviruses are still the cause of most cases in Austria. “There was a positive rate of 19% in the sentinel system,” virologist Monika Redlberger-Fritz from MedUni Vienna told daily news ‘Heute’.
However, parainfluenza viruses and seasonal coronaviruses are also continuing to wreak havoc. The latter, however, is not the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. “These are old seasonal coronaviruses, such as NL63, which are now increasing again and causing severe colds,” explains the expert. The typical symptoms of these coronaviruses, which usually affect the upper respiratory tract, are fever, cough, runny nose, headache, sore throat, and a general feeling of illness, including aching limbs—a flu-like infection as it appears in the “picture book,” so to speak.
However, the situation is currently “very calm,” explains the expert. The number of SARS-CoV-2 cases remains “stably low.”
However, one virus case stands out among the infections recently detected in the sentinel system: “There is a sporadic case of influenza B,” confirms Redlberger-Fritz. However, this is hardly worth mentioning and must continue to be monitored. “Individual cases will keep popping up over the next few weeks. But it will be some time before we have an endemic situation.”
The respiratory syncytial virus, which is hazardous for children, has not yet been detected. “Internationally, We can expect an increase in influenza and RSV cases from December and possibly a wave in January,” said the virologist cautiously
– source: heute.at/picture: pixabay.com
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