Alarm in Italy for a new virus that is added to Covid-19, the concern is high, the first hospitalizations have already been recorded.
Viruses don’t stop anymore, apparently from the continuous news on the health front.
Covid-19 has not disappeared at all, and a new virus is already worrying Italy. In our country, the Ministry of Health has long since started the fourth dose of Covid vaccine, but meanwhile a new influence has arrived.
Australian influence, at Bambin Gesù there are the first cases
From 2020 the pandemic from Coronavirus it rocked the whole world, and since then we are still fighting and monitoring the disease that has led to millions of deaths.
Researchers from the Microbiologist and Diagnostic Area of Immunology ofBambino Gesù Pediatric Hospital confirmed that they have been identified 16 cases of “Australian” flu. Through the analysis of the molecular profile of the contracted pathogens, the virus H3N2. The first case had already been identified at the end of June.
Carlo Federico Perno, head of Microbiologist and Immunology Diagnostics of the Infant Jesus, explained that “The characterization of a virus is a laboratory investigation that allows us to discover its characteristics and to understand whether it is an unknown or already known pathogen. In our patients, H3N2 was detected, a relatively common typology circulating over the years. The wave of infections, which started with about 6 months in advance from the southern hemisphere, including Australia, promises to be intense also in Italy, already reached by the virus since the beginning of the summer“.
The symptoms with which the Australian flu manifests are “The typical symptoms of seasonal illness: tiredness, pain in bones and muscles, fever and problems with the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems. In subjects at risk and in the case of comorbidities, the disease can have more serious effects “said Alberto Villani, Director of the Department of Emergency, Admission and General Pediatrics.
Regarding how to deal with this new strain, Villani explained that in Italy from 1 October the administration of the “updated” vaccine will start, which provides for the coverage of the H3N2 strain. “Vaccinate all children against the flu, especially if they are frail, starting from 6 months of age. There double vaccination, anti-flu and anti-Covid, it is particularly important and suitable for all the most vulnerable groups of the population. The vaccine is a safe tool to protect both them and those most at risk of the family unit “.
The H3N2 influenza virus was sequenced for the first time in Italy in August, by the hospital’s Hygiene laboratory San Martino of Genoa, directed by Professor Giancarlo Icardi. The virus was found in a young Genoese returning from a vacation arrived in the emergency room with symptoms such as high fever, sore throat, fat cough, bone pain and general malaise. The boy, vaccinated against Covid with three doses and tested negative for the swab, was hospitalized.