{"id":33455,"date":"2023-01-14T16:38:22","date_gmt":"2023-01-14T16:38:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/health-official-dispels-myths-around-recent-bout-of-flu"},"modified":"2023-01-14T17:44:57","modified_gmt":"2023-01-14T17:44:57","slug":"health-official-dispels-myths-around-recent-bout-of-flu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/health-official-dispels-myths-around-recent-bout-of-flu","title":{"rendered":"Health official dispels myths around recent bout of flu"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. <\/strong><\/span>The bout of influenza that affected a lot of people towards the end of 2022 and the New Year has nothing to do with the Covid-19 virus and nor is it in any way related to vaccination.<\/p>\n

The bout of flu which intensified during the rainy season left children and adults sick and weak, with many narrating how severe it was and the impact it had on their bodies.<\/p>\n

Common signs and symptoms included a strong cough, fever, headache, inflammation of the tonsils and general body malaise. The nature of the influenza left many wondering if it was a normal cold or not.<\/p>\n

\u201cI could not go to work for two days and previously I had never failed to work because of the flu. It didn\u2019t feel like a normal cold because I would feel feverish every evening,\u201d explained Madeline Uwabyaye, 42, a patient at Kigali Medical Centre (KMC).<\/p>\n

Uwabaye felt feverish on New Year\u2019s eve and was confined to bed on January 1. Assouma Mugwaneza, a nurse at a local clinic explained that the majority of the patients that came in at the beginning of the year were mainly people with influenza who thought they had contracted malaria.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome say they took medicine but the flu wasn\u2019t responding quickly and they thought they had malaria. Majority returned negative results for malaria,\u201d said Mugwaneza.<\/p>\n

Other people affected by the respiratory tract viral infection showed signs which include loss of appetite, general nausea and pain when coughing or sneezing. To many, the flu was more aggressive than they had ever experienced.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany people here in the market said that it was related to the vaccines we took, others said it could be Covid-19 in a different form,\u201d said Augustin Kananga, a trader in Kimironko market.<\/p>\n

But according to Prof. Claude Mambo Muvunyi, Director General of the Rwanda Biomedical Centre, there was nothing unusual with the flu escalated by the rainy season, and affected many people. Muvunyi also said the bout of flu had nothing to do with Covid-19 vaccines as some people had thought and was not associated with the pandemic.<\/p>\n

\u201cInfluenza is a seasonal epidemic. So, it is the season and it’s not only in Rwanda but even Europe and America where they are in winter. We didn\u2019t see anything unusual despite many people feeling that it was aggressive and widespread,\u201d Muvunyi said.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, the Rwanda Biomedical Centre was doing surveillance to best understand this strain of influenza.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis influenza cannot be associated with vaccines or Covid-19. There are many factors of how one reacts to it, mainly dependent on one’s immune system,\u201d Muvunyi said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe seriousness varied from one person to another but most of the signs we saw were typical signs of influenza,\u201d he said, adding that the on-going surveillance will determine whether the strains are different.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe started doing surveillance three weeks ago and it will provide us with data which will inform us better on the nature of the influenza. But, so far, we have not had any cases of severe sickness or hospitalisation.\u201d<\/p>\n

Why it was widespread<\/b><\/p>\n

Muvunyi said the reason they believe it was widespread is because during the Covid-19 period when people wore face masks, cases of flu became minimal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe think that now that people are no longer wearing face masks, many got exposed to the influenza virus. That is why it is advised that people in the high-risk group should continue to wear face masks, much as they are no longer mandatory,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

When people who contract flu wear masks immediately, he noted, they minimize the chances of infections. Muvunyi said that flu was not widespread in the past two years or so because of Covid-19 preventive measures.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same recommendations to prevent Covid-19 are the same that limit the spread of influenza; including washing hands with soap regularly and proper hygiene.\u201d<\/p>\n

Muvunyi said that after such a bout, people develop herd immunity and the influenza no longer becomes a threat even as the seasons change. In December, the Ministry of Health explained that the bout of flu sweeping across the country was exacerbated by the cold weather.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur data show an increase in seasonal flu cases during the rainy season. National laboratory surveillance testing shows that the H3N2 influenza virus remains the most prevalent in Rwanda,\u201d reads a statement from the Ministry. People with flu-like symptoms are advised to seek treatment and avoid spreading the virus as the surveillance on the situation continues.<\/p>\n

Last month, the World Health Organisation (WHO) warned that the 2022-2023 influenza (flu) season epidemic would affect many parts of the world, causing respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), at a time when the Covid-19 was exhibiting signs of resurfacing. The UN health agency indicated that some places, especially Europe, were experiencing increasing circulation of influenza and RSV, which together with Covid-19, were expected to have a high impact on the health services and populations during winter.<\/p>\n

The virus was detected in 23 countries in Europe, which reported Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) data. Hospitalised patients were diagnosed mostly with type B viruses (85%), with children aged four years and younger being the most often affected.<\/p>\n

The WHO called for increased inoculation, particularly for the unvaccinated groups and use of personal protective equipment, even when they are not mandatory.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Rwanda<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Rwanda. The bout of influenza that affected a lot of people towards the end of 2022 and the New Year has nothing to do with the Covid-19 virus and nor is it in any way related to vaccination. The bout of flu which intensified during the rainy season left children and adults sick […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":33454,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,30],"tags":[760,763,758],"class_list":["post-33455","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-community","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-rwanda","tag-rwanda"],"yoast_head":"\nHealth official dispels myths around recent bout of flu - Rwanda<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The bout of influenza that affected a lot of people towards the end of 2022 and the New Year has nothing to do with the ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/health-official-dispels-myths-around-recent-bout-of-flu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Health official dispels myths around recent bout of flu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The bout of influenza that affected a lot of people towards the end of 2022 and the New Year has nothing to do with the ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/health-official-dispels-myths-around-recent-bout-of-flu\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Rwanda\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2023-01-14T16:38:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-01-14T17:44:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1673701707.04-63c2e9c50fcc4.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"666\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/health-official-dispels-myths-around-recent-bout-of-flu#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/health-official-dispels-myths-around-recent-bout-of-flu\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Health official dispels myths around recent bout of flu\",\"datePublished\":\"2023-01-14T16:38:22+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-01-14T17:44:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/health-official-dispels-myths-around-recent-bout-of-flu\"},\"wordCount\":904,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/health-official-dispels-myths-around-recent-bout-of-flu#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/sites\/23\/2023\/01\/postQueueImg_1673701707.04-63c2e9c50fcc4.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Rwanda\",\"Rwanda\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Community\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/health-official-dispels-myths-around-recent-bout-of-flu#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/health-official-dispels-myths-around-recent-bout-of-flu\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/rwanda\/all-news\/health-official-dispels-myths-around-recent-bout-of-flu\",\"name\":\"Health official dispels myths around recent bout of flu - 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