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.
A study published today in The Lancet claims that there are no benefits to alcohol consumption for young people between the ages of 15 and 39. However, the authors claim that in adults over the age of 40 consuming a small amount may confer some health benefits.
A study published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases analyses the response of seven monkeypox patients diagnosed in the UK between 2018-2021, treated with the antivirals brincidofovir and tecovirimat.
On 18 May, the Ministry of Health confirmed to SMC Spain that eight suspected cases "clinically compatible" with monkeypox had been detected. The same afternoon, the Consejería de Sanidad de la Comunidad de Madrid reported that it had detected 23 possible cases of infection. These cases need to be confirmed after testing. At least 7 cases have been confirmed in the UK and Portugal. This is a rare zoonotic viral disease and there is no vaccine or specific treatment available. Treatment is symptomatic and supportive. Most cases are resolved favourably.
Following the detection of several cases of people infected with the simian smallpox virus in the UK, health authorities are concerned that there may be EU-wide transmission with undetected infections, both within and outside the country. In Spain, the Community of Madrid has identified 23 possible cases of infection.
The Minister of Health, Carolina Darias, today announced that face masks will no longer be compulsory indoors after Easter. The measure will come into force on 20 April. It will continue to be compulsory in public transport, health centres and residences, but the final details of the new scenario are not yet known.
A study assesses the health impacts of the 2020 closures in three European cities that implemented different measures: Barcelona, Stockholm and Vienna. The researchers took data on changes in pollution, noise and physical activity at three different points in time. Their findings suggest that, while the reduction in noise and pollution may have been positive for health, the negative consequences of the lack of physical activity were generally greater.
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 WHO recommends keeping an eye on the BA.2 variant of Omicron because it is spreading, but it does not appear to cause more serious disease or escape vaccination. Don't be fooled by its evocative nickname: it is perfectly detectable. The misconception that tests do not identify it was propagated by a headline that was corrected.
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?