The respiratory virus season
The number of respiratory virus cases, in certain Romanian regions, has tripled from one week to the next.
Bogdan Matei, 17.01.2025, 13:50
The number of respiratory virus cases, in certain Romanian regions, has tripled from one week to the next.
The number of patients diagnosed with respiratory viruses in the last week in Arad county, in western Romania, has increased threefold compared to the previous week. According to the county’s Public Health Department (DSP), 1,414 respiratory infections were recorded, compared to 548 in the previous week or 513 in the last week of 2024. This increase in the number of viruses also occurred because family doctors were free during the winter holidays, during which diagnoses were fewer and were made mainly in the hospital, according to say representatives of the DSP Arad. The number of cases of pneumonia has registered an insignificant decrease, from 160 to 159 new cases in the last seven days.
In the case of flu virus infections, if in the first week of January there were 4 confirmed cases, in the second week there were 23. Specialists say that Arad is not an exception, but a representative case for the entire country. The Satu Mare County Emergency Hospital (northwest) has introduced access restrictions to the unit, due to the increase in the number of cases of flu and respiratory viruses. The infectious diseases department of the Slatina County Emergency Hospital (south) is almost full, according to the medical director of the healthcare unit.
Most cases, however, have been reported in Bucharest. At the “Victor Babeş” Clinical Hospital for Infectious Diseases in the capital, between 150 and 200 people with various forms of respiratory viruses are seen by doctors daily. In short, more and more Romanians are going to family doctors’ offices and hospital emergency rooms, with acute symptoms of a cold or flu.
The President of the Epidemiology Commission within the Ministry of Health, Dr. Doina Azoicăi, said on Radio Romania that there are over 200 respiratory viruses that, during the cold season, can cause infections. Depending on each person and the type of virus, infections can evolve from simple colds to severe respiratory disease. Dr. Azoicăi says that the COVID-19 pandemic should have taught people many things. First of all, to avoid crowded areas and contact with people who already have symptoms. However, vaccination remains the easiest, safest and most effective method of protection against seasonal diseases, the expert also said, emphasizing that, with the increase in the number vaccinated people, the spread of the flu virus in the community decreases. However, according to the media, with the winter season already halfway through, the Romanians who have been vaccinated or are willing to do so are a minority.
