The latest version of the clinical recommendations of the Ministry of Health “Influenza in adults” updated information on the incubation period of the virus and symptoms of the disease
Photo: Maria CUAREMS
In the latest version of the clinical recommendations of the Ministry of Health “Influenza in adults”, information on the incubation period of the virus and the symptoms of the disease has been updated, it is also said in more detail about who is at risk of developing a severe form of the disease and complications.
The incubation period (the time from the moment of infection to the onset of symptoms) of the influenza virus is now designated 1-4 days, with an average of about 48 hours. Previously, the time of 10-12 hours and up to seven days was indicated.
Gastrointestinal symptoms have been added to the list of flu-specific symptoms (headache, sore throat, back and leg pain, fever, burning chest, cough), which are more common with swine flu caused by H1N1 strain. This is nausea and vomiting, abdominal pain.
People at particular risk of getting the flu include:
– children under 5 years old,
– adults over 65 years of age,
– people with chronic diseases (for example, with cardiopulmonary problems, diabetes mellitus, renal or hepatic insufficiency, immunodeficiency),
– women in the second or third trimester of pregnancy,
– people who have a reduced ability to clear sputum from the lungs (for example, those who have had a stroke, with neuromuscular disorders, who suffer from seizures, with memory and thinking problems – cognitive problems).
– adolescents under 18 years of age who take aspirin. Aspirin is generally not recommended for children under 18, and especially for influenza. It can cause a dangerous complication with damage to the liver and nervous system.
Worldwide, annual influenza epidemics cause approximately 3 to 5 million cases of severe forms of the disease and 250 to 500 thousand deaths (WHO data). The most effective way to prevent serious diseases and their consequences is vaccination. In the updated version of the clinical guidelines, it is recommended, among other things, that the prevention of influenza be carried out with inactivated quadrivalent vaccines that act against four seasonal variants of the virus at the same time.
