Outbreak Of Pneumonias Occurs In Belarus
- 26.09.2024, 8:23
There are a lot of patients in hospitals.
A lot of patients with pneumonia, which is not typical for this time of year, appeared in Belarus in the summer, writes ‘Nasha Niva’.
This summer, hospitals received a lot of people with pneumonia.
‘According to observations, the peak began in August. People usually first complain of a general malaise, cough, temperature of about 38, which does not subside for 3-5 days. Some people experience vomiting and nausea,’ explains a doctor working in the hospital.
According to doctors, tests do not always show that a person has covid, but it is obvious from all the symptoms that he has it.
The interlocutor also notes that such a number of pneumonias, which was observed this summer, is not typical for this period.
‘Covid is now basically treated like influenza. When the test does not confirm the diagnosis, patients are diagnosed with influenza. The general attitude to covid is not the same now as it was 2-3 years ago, because everyone realises that it is not going to get away from us.’
Despite the large number of diseases with pneumonia, the doctor notes that the mortality rate from the current strains is, fortunately, low. But their virulence is very high, it is not uncommon for families to have several people sick at once.
‘It may also be noted that children used to get sick with covid much less frequently, now there are equally many cases among both adults and children.’
A doctor from the polyclinic also confirms that the increase in illnesses began around the second half of summer. However, since mass testing is no longer practised, it is impossible to determine the actual number of covid patients.
There were also public people among those who were sick with pneumonia. For example, in August, singer Ivan Zdaniuk shared on social networks that he had a temperature of 39.7 during the last days of his holiday in Turkey. Ivan's condition was so bad that an ambulance was waiting for him at Minsk airport. Before the performance in Lida on the city holiday, the doctors gave him an injection so that he could go on stage. Almost immediately after the concert, the singer was taken to hospital with pneumonia.
Natallia Fedziukovich, a popular Belarusian blogger, founder of her own F-clinic of women's health in Minsk, also complained of pneumonia. She showed on social networks how she was breathing oxygen in between clients.
Official Information from the Ministry of Health
The increase in the incidence of covid is also mentioned at the official level. Kiryl Ihnatau, head of the immunoprophylaxis department of the Republican Centre for Hygiene, Epidemiology and Public Health, said that there has been an increase in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country. Ihnatau attributed it to the onset of the autumn season.
What About the Neighbours?
Similar trends are observed in neighbouring countries. For example, at the end of August the chief sanitary inspector of Poland Pawel Graszczewski made recommendations to return to the practice of wearing masks. He justified these statements by the fact that the country is experiencing a rapid increase in the incidence of covid.
According to reports from the Polish Ministry of Health, the rise in infections began in July, when about 60 cases a day were recorded. By the end of July, the number had risen to more than 200 and reached more than 400 in August.
An increase in the incidence of Covid-19 has also been noted in Lithuania.