Respiratory disease strikes again

This wave of respiratory infection peaks in autumn and winter is essentially caused by the staggered prevalence of multiple pathogens such as Mycoplasma pneumoniae, influenza A, respiratory syncytial virus, and adenovirus, combined with the fluctuating population immunity levels and favorable transmission conditions of low temperature and low humidity. It is neither a "new virus outbreak" nor a simple "immune debt outbreak." Ordinary people do not need to panic excessively, nor can they completely relax their protection.

Last Wednesday, I accompanied my cousin’s feverish baby to the pediatric emergency department of the Maternity and Child Health Hospital. The registration line reached over 400, and the waiting area was full of people. Most of the babies in my arms and on their backs were wearing antipyretic patches. The parents next to me were holding nucleic acid/antigen test reports with everything written in the pathogen column. The dad sitting next to me said that his eldest son just got mycoplasma, and his second son was infected with syncytium. The couple took turns asking for leave and didn't sleep for almost half a month.

There is currently no unified conclusion in the academic community as to why this wave of infections came so violently. Most scholars who hold the view of "immune debt" refer to the population infection data of the past three years - in the past three years, everyone has generally worn masks and maintained social distance, and the frequency of exposure to various respiratory pathogens has been more than 60% lower than before 2019. This is especially true for younger children. Many have not been exposed to popular strains since birth and have no pre-existing immunity in their bodies. They are easily infected as soon as they enter an open environment. This can also explain why the infection rate among children this year is nearly three times higher than that among adults. Disease control experts who hold the "epidemic cycle theory" believe that respiratory pathogens have fixed epidemic cycles. For example, the epidemic cycle of Mycoplasma pneumoniae is 3-7 years. The last national Mycoplasma epidemic was in 2018. Influenza A H3N2 also has an epidemic peak every 2-3 years. This year just happened to coincide with the superposition of epidemic cycles of multiple pathogens, and cluster infections occurred. Both groups have data to support it, but there is no conclusion yet.

I know Sister Zhang, a nurse in the respiratory department of a tertiary hospital, who has basically been running around for the past half month. There are 16 nurses in the department working shifts, and 7 of them have been infected with different pathogens. She just had the flu two days ago, and she started coughing again. It was tested that it was syncytial virus. The advice she gave was very practical, not the empty "pay attention to protection" on the Internet: "If you go to a crowded closed place, such as a hospital, subway, or shopping mall, you should wear a mask and don't feel bored. If you have elderly children at home, change your coat before coming in after get off work, wash your hands before touching the baby, and don't kiss the baby while holding the baby. You may be able to carry the virus on your body, but the baby cannot. Also, don't mess around. I just took medicine last week. I had a fever at home. I took azithromycin, cephalosporin, and ibuprofen. I mixed the three medicines. After three days of taking these medicines, my liver enzymes tripled. I went straight to the hospital. Antibiotics are only effective against bacteria and mycoplasma, but are useless against viruses such as influenza and syncytialism. If you really have a fever, go and test for pathogens. It only costs ten yuan. Taking the right medicine will help you get better quickly."

Nowadays, there are two completely opposite protection ideas on the Internet. One is "active infection for immunity." I feel that these pathogens come every year anyway, and if you can avoid it this year, you will not be able to avoid it next year. It is better to get infected once when you are young and in good health. Once you develop antibodies, you don't have to be afraid. There are a few young men around me. My colleagues don't hide when they have a fever, saying "morning is better in the morning". At present, most of them have upper respiratory tract symptoms after infection, and the fever will be fine in two or three days. There is another method of "preventing everything possible", especially if there are elderly people, pregnant women, and people with underlying diseases at home. They feel that even if the illness is mild, it will not be worth the loss if the underlying illness is aggravated. My neighbor has an old man with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Now he does not go out except to go downstairs to take out the garbage. The windows are opened every day in the house for ventilation. When visiting him, his children and grandchildren have to wear masks and disinfect before entering. So far, they have not been infected. In fact, there is nothing wrong with both of these ideas. It all depends on your own physical condition. There is no need to blame each other.

A few days ago, I went to the fruit shop in front of my community to buy oranges. The boss said that lemons and oranges have been sold out again recently. Many people asked if they had pears, saying that they wanted to boil pear water to treat coughs. Some people posted about their stockpiles of oseltamivir, azithromycin, and Motrin in their friends circle. In fact, there is really no need to stock up. Oseltamivir is only effective if you take it when you have the flu. It is most effective if you take it within 48 hours of the onset of the disease. Storing it at home if it expires is a waste. Azithromycin is a prescription drug. Taking it randomly can easily lead to drug resistance. If you really get infected, just follow the doctor's advice. You can't eat it if you hoard so much.

When I got off work yesterday, I saw the end-of-school team at the primary school downstairs. The children were all wearing fancy little masks, lining up and shouting slogans as they walked out, which didn’t stop them from playing around. In fact, respiratory diseases have always been a frequent visitor in autumn and winter, but they just happened to join in the fun this year. Don’t treat it as a scourge, and don’t take it too seriously. Wear a mask when you should, take a rest when you should, and go to the hospital if you feel really uncomfortable. You can always get over it.