Adrian Hugo Aginagalde

Since mid-October, northern China has reported an increase in influenza-like illness compared to the same period in the previous three years. On 21 November, the media and the ProMED system reported outbreaks of pneumonia of undiagnosed cause in children in northern China. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it is unclear whether these are related to the overall increase in respiratory infections previously reported by the Chinese authorities or are separate episodes. In a statement, the WHO has officially requested detailed information from China on this increase in respiratory illnesses and outbreaks of childhood pneumonia.

On the occasion of World Cancer Research Day on 24 September, the Science Media Centre Spain organised an information session on mass screening. At the meeting, researchers Adrian Aginagalde, Isabel Portillo and Juan Carlos Trujillo explained how mass screening is studied, analysed its advantages and disadvantages, explained how its implementation is decided and what new developments we can expect.

The Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, announced today at a press conference that in view of the increase in cases of covid-19 in China following the end of the covid zero policy, Spanish airports are going to require passengers arriving from that country to take a negative test for covid-19 or a complete vaccination schedule. The first flight affected by health control measures will arrive at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport at 18:00 on 31 December.

A study published today analyses 185 cases of monkeypox reported in Spain up to 11 July.

The WHO's Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System recorded outliers for influenza illness in 16 countries, including Spain, in early 2020. This would mean an average of 13 weeks before the first reported covid-19 peak, according to research published in PLoS Medicine.

The Public Health Commission has updated the Covid-19 Surveillance and Control Strategy, which will come into force on Monday 28 March. From then on, as long as indicators of healthcare utilisation are at low risk, diagnostic testing will focus on vulnerable individuals and settings and severe cases. Surveillance will focus on these groups.

The terms "endemism" and "seasonality" are increasingly used to refer to the covid-19 pandemic. They are sometimes incorrectly associated with the severity of the disease or with the premature end of the pandemic. What do they mean? Does SARS-CoV-2 fit these definitions? Will it ever do so thanks to vaccines?

In recent days, several countries have modified the quarantine times for close contacts and the isolation of infected people, while others are already considering it. Spain has announced that it will reduce these periods to 7 days, both for people who have tested positive in a test and for close contacts who require quarantine (in the case of our country, unvaccinated people).