Concerns over new wave of influenza in Iran: 56 people have died

While the deputy and head of the Public Relations and Information Center of the Ministry of Health are reporting that the flu will subside within the next two weeks, two other officials have expressed concern about the start of a "new wave" of the flu.

Influenza is not a disease that the Iranian people are immune to. The latest official statistics indicate that 56 Iranians have died from influenza. Kianoush Jahanpour, head of the Public Relations and Information Center of the Ministry of Health, announced today, Monday, December 1, that the highest number of deaths from this disease were in the provinces of Kerman, Golestan, Mazandaran, Khuzestan, and Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad.

According to him, about four thousand people were hospitalized in hospitals across the country, although not all of them were infected with influenza, but suspicious symptoms were seen in them.

Alireza Raisi, Deputy Minister of Health, like Mr. Jahanpour, believes that the wave of influenza infections, which has caused people to unexpectedly visit medical centers and hospitals, will subside within the next two weeks.

This is while two other officials do not share this view. Mohammad Mehdi Goya, head of the Center for Infectious Disease Management at the Ministry of Health, and Masoud Mardani, a member of the National Influenza Committee, believe that the "severity" of the disease is greater than last year (2018) and that no end can be expected for it.

Mr. Mardani, meanwhile, said that if the necessary precautions against influenza are not taken, we should expect a second wave of the disease with greater severity.

Air pollution and exacerbation of influenza disease

Some officials do not consider air pollution, especially in the fall, to be effective in causing influenza unless the atmospheric conditions with airborne particles become critical.

Hossein Erfani, head of the Communicable Diseases Department at the Ministry of Health, has this opinion and said that people, especially athletes, should avoid unnecessary travel in the open air.

Erfani also advised those with chronic pulmonary or cardiovascular conditions to take more care of their health than others, as air pollution exacerbates the symptoms of their illness.

Meanwhile, Iranian health officials do not believe there is a direct connection between the closure of schools in some contaminated areas due to the spread of influenza, and they believe that the closure of schools is not related to influenza, but rather due to air pollution.

Ministry of Health's recommendations to patients

The Ministry of Health has advised patients not to "self-prescribe" and to strictly avoid injecting dexamethasone, taking antibiotics, and corticosteroids.

People at risk are also urged to see a doctor as soon as possible and get vaccinated if they have not yet received the flu vaccine.

Health Ministry officials have announced that this year's flu outbreak began a month earlier in Iran than in previous years, saying that the wave of this disease is not unique to Iran, and reports show that this phenomenon also exists in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean and West Asia.

According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, 500,000 people worldwide die from influenza every year, but fortunately, the death rate in Iran is lower than the global average.

Source: DW