This year the flu has arrived before, and it has also arrived strongly in the northern half of the Iberian Peninsula, so that it is already considered that we are in an epidemic situation. This word, which sounds so bad, only explains that it is affecting populations whose total sum of inhabitants exceeds 50% of a region.
The fact is that children are also suffering from it and that is why there are cities in which schools are not being filled with children as usual, being dangerous for them to be with the elderly, which are the ones that ultimately have the worst time. The flu that is causing the epidemic, which has not yet reached its peak, is the flu A.
The flu has arrived more than a month before
As we read in 20 minutes, the flu has arrived this year 6 weeks earlier than last year, so that many children were already taken at Christmas time and are spreading them even more now that they have returned to school and nursery school.
Spanish hospitals are collapsed with sick people, and we are in the midst of the epidemic's rise. But this is not the most surprising thing: experts say that the peak has not yet arrived, because the contagion will continue happening even several days.
The infections are from influenza A
According to this map published by the Influenza Surveillance System in Spain, corresponding to the first week of January, outbreaks and infections are due to influenza A for the most part, although there are two strains that share that honor: H3 and H3N2.
Neither of them is that flu A that a few years ago scared us all so much and that caused the government's reaction by buying doses for a large part of the population, and that in the end turned out not to be as lethal as it seemed. For those who do not remember the name of the strain, it was the H1N1.
And what can we do to prevent the flu?
Well, what parents do in these cases, when they tell us that there is more virus than usual in nursery school or school:
- Continue to have the children wash their hands before eating or putting them in their mouths.
- Avoid getting your hands to your nose, mouth and eyes, if possible.
- Avoid direct contact with people who are sick, and not take them to school if they are the ones who are sick.
- Teach them to cover their mouths to cough, as well as to clean their snot and throw the tissue in the trash.
- Clean and disinfect toys and objects that children touch and suck (especially if they are going to touch and suck others).
- Having healthy habits: playing a little outdoors, eating a balanced diet and resting well at night will help you have a stronger immune system.
