Health Concern In Spain’s Cadiz As Levels Of Influenza Exceeds Epidemic Levels

THE province of Cadiz in Spain has 83.5 cases of flu per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to the average of 26.2 cases in the region.

According to the Ministry Of Health, epidemic levels are considered such when there are 40.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, a threshold that the province has doubled.

Despite the alarming numbers, the official authorities announced yesterday that the situation has not caused “an avalanche of patients” in the emergency services and the situation in the emergency department is “not alarming.”

Hospital admissions have gone up from 781 to 833 in a two week period, however emergency home visits had fallen by 2,74 per cent. The Department of Health reassures that these figures remain within “normal levels” and are similar to those recorded in previous years.

The Andalusian department of health has 2,617 health professionals to reinforce its staff in order to meet the rising demand in hospitals, health centres and emergency services.

The increase in recruitment compared to the 2018 and 2019 flu campaign is 367, according to official figures provided by the Junta (Andalusian Board).

In the same preventative measure, a total of 1,122,749 vaccines have been distributed in the region, of which 694,082 have been for senior citizens over 65 years of age. The number of vaccinations distributed was 115,721 more than in the previous campaign (2018-2019), an increase of 11.4 per cent.

As Euro Weekly News understands, the winter of 2017-2018 was the most lethal for influenza cases in Spain in the previous decade, with 472 people losing their lives to the flu.

The World Health Organisation and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control have criticised the “low acceptance” of the flu vaccine in Europe, where in many countries only a third of adults have been vaccinated.