Cases of pneumonia in children and the elderly have tripled in the Loja canton, according to the Ministry of Public Health (MSP). In the first quarter of 2023, 883 cases have been reported, of which, at the moment, 4 are hospitalized.
Circumstances
The registered cases (883) correspond to both the private sector, units of the MSP and the Ecuadorian Institute of Social Security (IESS), which shows the increase in this year, unlike 2022 because in the same period there were only 310 cases.
Marlene Moreno Ortega, a doctor from Zonal Health Surveillance, told Diario Crónica that the situation is worrisome, even more so with the sudden changes in temperature that are hitting the city of Loja and that are possibly the cause of the increase in cases.
“For this reason, it is advisable to take care of yourself during flu processes with adequate clothing, isolate yourself so as not to infect the rest of the family, and, most importantly, not self-medicate; but go to the doctor because it can culminate in pneumonia with complications, ”he said.
figures
The health official said that from January to last Monday —March 27— 189 cases of pneumonia were reported at the Isidro Ayora General Hospital; Julia Esther González Delgado Municipal Hospital Clinic, 80 cases; Manuel Ygnacio Monteros of the IESS, 405 cases; and, Hospital del Día del IESS, 96, both hospitalized and outpatients. To date, only 4 patients have been admitted to nursing homes.
COVID-19
The Zonal Health Surveillance doctor pointed out that the cases of COVID-19 have decreased significantly in relation to the previous year, since, in total, in the three months of the year, 369 cases have been reported; of which, the highest number corresponds to January with 299 cases, February, 32, and March, 38. And, currently, there are only 5 active cases.
Despite the encouraging number, it invites citizens to go to the doctor for a test to rule out the disease if they have respiratory symptoms, such as runny nose or runny nose, or sore throat. (YO)