In Weather with Large Temperature Swings Between Hot and Cold... Flu and Cold Patients Increasing Again

Pharmacy image [Image source=Yonhap News]

The number of patients with influenza (flu) and colds is increasing simultaneously as the weather continues to have large temperature differences between day and night. It also appears that the lifting of the indoor mask mandate on public transportation on March 20 has had some impact.

According to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 16th, the proportion of patients showing suspected influenza symptoms per 1,000 outpatients (Influenza-Like Illness rate, ILI) in the 14th week of this year (April 2?8) was 15.2, an increase of 0.7 from the 13th week (March 26?April 1, 14.5). The number of suspected flu patients surged to 60.7 during December 25?31 last year, then declined to 11.6 by February 19?25, but has shown a slight increase since then.

Suspected flu patients usually tend to decrease in March. However, this year, the numbers have actually increased: 11.7 during March 12?18 → 13.2 during March 19?25 → 14.5 during March 26?April 1. The most recent suspected flu patient rate exceeds three times the epidemic threshold of 4.9 for this flu season. By age group, the rates were especially high among children and adolescents: 7?12 years old (25.8), 13?18 years old (23.9), and 1?6 years old (19.0).

Patients with acute respiratory infections showing cold symptoms such as runny nose and cough are also on the rise. The number of hospitalized patients increased from 1,810 in the 13th week to 2,122 in the 14th week. The number of acute respiratory infection patients has increased about 2.2 times in four weeks after recording 973 in the 10th week. Acute respiratory infections occur when infected by common viruses such as Rhinovirus (HRV), Adenovirus (HAdV) which is vulnerable to children, and Respiratory Syncytial Virus (HRSV) which frequently affects infants and toddlers.

On the 12th, the government urged at the COVID-19 Central Disaster and Safety Countermeasure Headquarters meeting to "strictly follow personal hygiene rules such as hand washing, ventilation, and cough etiquette to prevent respiratory diseases."