2023-09-09 11:46:00
Covid infections and deaths are increasing in Italy as is the positivity rate. In the last week of the bulletin, which runs from August 31st to September 6th, it was 12.6%, 2.1 percentage points higher than the 10.5% in the period from August 24th to 30th. Cases in the last week were 21,309, an increase of 44% compared to 14,863 last week, and 94 deaths, an increase of approximately 45% compared to 65 in the period 24-30 August.
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“We have new variants of #Covid that we are monitoring but none seem more worrying than usual” writes Fabrizio Maggi, director of the Virology and Biosafety Laboratories Unit of the Lazzaro Spallanzani Institute for Infectious Diseases in Rome, in a post on Facebook. “The virus has taken the direction of adaptation towards its host, that is us. And this, also thanks to vaccination coverage and hybrid immunity, can only translate into a milder disease in young and healthy people. Vaccinate the elderly and fragile, however, continues to be important as we see some relaxation on this front.”
The latest data show “an incidence of diagnosed and reported cases equal to 31 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants. The highest incidence in Sardinia with 53 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants, while the lowest in Basilicata (8 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants)”.
“The occupancy of beds in the medical area is also growing, standing at 3% (it was 2.7% last week) with a total of 1,872 hospitalized. The occupancy of intensive care units is also increasing (0.6% compared to to 0.4% of last week’s survey), where 49 people are hospitalized”, underlines the monitoring.
Reinfections are also on the rise: “The percentage of infections reported in subjects with at least one previous infection is increasing and around 39%” according to monitoring, compared to 36% in the previous survey.
NEW RULES FOR FIRST AID
Meanwhile, new provisions are arriving for Covid swabs for access to emergency rooms and nursing homes. The circular from the Prevention Directorate of the Ministry of Health, signed by the director Francesco Vaia, “having examined the current clinical-epidemiological trend”, recommends that “for patients who do not present symptoms compatible with Covid-19 at the triage, carried out upon access to the Emergency room, testing for Sars-CoV-2 is not indicated.” For patients who present symptoms with a clinical picture compatible with Covid-19 “diagnostic tests for Sars-CoV-2 are indicated”.
And again: for patients “who according to their medical history declare that they have had close contact with a confirmed Covid-19 case, with exposure in the last 5 days, carrying out diagnostic tests for Sars-CoV-2 is indicated”, underlines the circular. “For patients, even if asymptomatic, who need to be admitted to hospital or transferred (both planned and emergency) to high-risk healthcare settings (wards containing immunocompromised and fragile patients, protected facilities, RSAs), it is recommended to carry out diagnostic tests for Sars-CoV-2”, continues the document.
As regards RSAs, residential healthcare and socio-healthcare facilities. “Guests who must access (new entries, transfers) to residential health and social-health facilities, in which there are fragile people at risk due to age or concomitant pathologies, are advised to carry out diagnostic tests for Sars-CoV-2 at moment of access to the facility”, underlines the circular.
THE MOST POPULAR VARIANTS
The variants change, but the symptoms of those who fall ill remain largely unchanged, i.e. runny nose, cold, sore throat and cough. It can also happen that you develop a fever and lose your sense of smell and taste as often happens with Coronavirus. The prevalent variant in Italy, according to the new bulletin, is Eris. Experts communicate that the symptoms found so far in patients affected by the Eris variant develop a clinical picture very similar to the already known manifestations of Covid.
For example, Dr. Kristina K. Bryant, a specialist in the field of pediatric infectious diseases at Norton Children’s Infectious Diseases, spoke to the magazine ‘Health’ about symptoms similar to those typical of the Omicron variant. To be precise, many patients have reported experiencing symptoms similar to the most common allergies: these include a runny nose, cough, sore throat and congestion of the upper respiratory tract. Since it is a dominant variant, Kristina K. Bryant advises not to underestimate its manifestations. In the case of Pirola also high fever, cold and loss of sense of taste or smell.
The studies carried out to date highlight that the Eris variant “is characterized by a high growth rate which, together with a decreased neutralization capacity of antibodies towards other variants, would justify its prevalence in several countries”. However, “to date there are no additional risks to public health with respect to co-circulating lineages”, underlines the Institute.
International health authorities have turned a spotlight on Pirola due to the high number of mutations concentrated on the Spike protein. BA.2.86, states the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control ECDC, is very divergent from the Sars-CoV-2 strains currently in circulation”, and this “raises concerns about an increase in reinfections”, in the case in which Pirola “exceeded the variants existing in the EU/EEA”. “There is no indication” that infection with variants of Sars-CoV-2 similar to Kraken (XBB.1.5)+F456L, a mutation under the scrutiny of experts, or from Pirola BA.2.86, “is associated with more severe disease or a reduction in the effectiveness of the Covid vaccine against severe disease, compared to currently circulating variants. Older people and those with pre-existing conditions remain at greater risk of severe outcomes if infected.”
As regards the other variants of Sars-CoV-2 under international scrutiny, there is “a stable prevalence in our country of the” Arturo “XBB.1.16 variant, while the values relating to” Kraken “XBB.1.5 are in decrease as well as those related to XBB.2.3” or Acrux. “We continue to report the circulation of CH.1.1” or Orthrus, “descendant of BA.2.75” or Centaurus “and classified as a variant under monitoring, Vum, by international bodies, with low prevalence values”.
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