A five-year-old girl, who suffered from underlying diseases, died over the weekend at Meir Hospital in Kfar Saba following a system collapse due to the flu.
In the past two weeks, two more girls died from the flu: a 13-year-old from Elad and an 18-year-old girl from Jerusalem. Meanwhile, hospitals are dealing with a severe wave of winter illness and the hospitals are at full capacity.
The girl was rushed to Meir Hospital over the weekend in critical condition, suffering from multi-system failure as a result of infection complications and the flu. Despite advanced resuscitation efforts and intensive care given to her in the pediatric intensive care unit, her condition deteriorated rapidly leading to her death.
For the germophobes, you are not wrong. According to the Health Ministry last week, the referral rate to Clalit and Maccabi PMOs due to flu-like illness continues to rise. The gross referral rate is above the epidemic threshold. The increase was evident in all age groups. There is also a continued increase in respiratory tract infections and pneumonia.
Occupancy rates in internal medicine departments across the country exceed 100% in many hospitals, a figure that means patients are in the hallways. At Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem, the occupancy rate in internal medicine departments stands at about 120-130%. "People think it is a mild disease, but the flu virus can take a heavy toll, especially among immune-compromised populations," says Prof. Alon Hershko, director of the Internal Medicine Department at Hadassah Ein Kerem Medical Center. "We see complex situations, especially among the elderly and chronically ill."
However, it's not just the elderly who are suffering from the disease. D., whose entire family recently contracted the flu, says: "My husband caught it from a colleague at work who attended a team meeting, and he lay completely exhausted for more than a week. After him, the children and I got infected, one after the other, We had high fever, muscle and throat pain, and coughs. It took more than a week before we felt strong enough to go outside, and even then it took a few more days before our condition improved."
Has the less violent strain become stronger?
Health Ministry data shows that most of the illness so far, about 80% of cases, is caused by influenza type B. Among hospitalized patients in recent weeks, the Health Ministry reported an increase in respiratory diseases. "The flu has been around for more than two weeks," says Dr. Ian Miskin, a family medicine and infectious disease specialist at Clalit in the Jerusalem district.
"According to the data, we have not yet reached the peak of the disease. This year we are seeing something interesting. Most patients in the community are sick with influenza B, while most of those hospitalized in hospitals were infected with influenza A. My hypothesis is that children are more infected with the less common B strain because their immune system has not encountered it before, while adults are more susceptible to normal flu. The B strain is considered less violent, but at this stage, we are not seeing a big difference in morbidity. We are monitoring the situation closely."
One of the indicators that negatively affects the infection this year is the low vaccination rate against the flu. As of December 29, less than 1.5 million insured people had been vaccinated against seasonal flu in health, a vaccine that is recommended for every baby in Israel from the age of six months.
"Unfortunately, we are in a very bad situation in terms of vaccinations," says Dr. Miskin. The number of people vaccinated against the flu has dropped dramatically compared to before COVID-19. In the winter of 2019, almost 2.25 million people were vaccinated in Israel, compared to only 1.4 million so far.
"In total, only about 800,000 insured people were vaccinated. This is irresponsible and there is no other word to describe it. This is a vaccine that has been around for 30-40 years, for children for 20 years, and is safe and effective. No one is conducting experiments in this area," added Dr. Miskin.
"The flu is sometimes perceived as a mild and transient disease, but in fact, it is a respiratory disease that disables and in some cases leads to respiratory failure to the point of requiring a ventilator. The vaccine does not cause the flu because it contains a killed virus, and those who are vaccinated against the disease will be protected against the flu only."
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Hospitals full around the world as result of the flu
(Photo: Hugh Hastings / Getty Images)
"There is still a point in getting vaccinated to receive some protection against the disease. Those who can, should rush to get vaccinated today, with any vaccine available at the PMOs. Also, those who are sick, should stay home to avoid infecting others. If they must travel by public transportation, it is better to do so with the windows open, while wearing a mask."
Tests conducted by the Health Ministry indicate that most cases are not COVID-related. Approximately 160 COVID patients are currently hospitalized.
Flu strikes the US and Europe
It's not just Israel that is facing a harsh winter. According to the World Health Organization report, updated to mid-December, flu activity in the Northern Hemisphere is very high. In a statement published by the American Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) last week, there was a marked increase in flu and COVID cases at the same time. The rate of positive flu tests in the U.S. has risen from about 12% to about 19% in recent weeks. The center expects COVID cases to continue the trend in the coming weeks.
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Hospitals in Europe are also reporting a surge in the number of people hospitalized with the flu. The hardest incidents are children under 15 and adults over 60. Hungary, France and Spain have reported significant increases in the number of people hospitalized with the flu. In Britain, the National Health Service announced on Friday that the meteoric rise in the number of people infected with the virus could make this winter one of the worst ever. The number of hospitalizations due to the flu in Britain increased fourfold in December compared to the previous month.
According to the latest report from the World Health Organization (WHO), updated on December 15, COVID infection rates are high in some countries in South America, Europe, Central and East Africa, and Southeast Asia. The known Omicron strain is still the most dominant with the KP and XEC subtypes also prevalent throughout the world.