September marks the beginning of autumn, when the weather gradually turns cooler, with a large temperature difference between day and night and unpredictable climate change. It is the peak season for various respiratory and infectious diseases.
This month is the beginning of the school year. As students gather in large numbers in a short period of time, we should pay attention to the occurrence of influenza in schools. In addition, we should also pay special attention to viral infections such as norovirus and dengue fever.
1. Influenza
Influenza (abbreviated as “flu”) is an acute respiratory infectious disease caused by influenza virus. It is mainly transmitted through droplets of respiratory secretions, and can also be transmitted through direct or indirect contact with mucous membranes such as the mouth, nose, and eyes. Influenza viruses can be divided into four types: A, B, C, and D (or A, B, C, and D). Currently, the main infectors are the H1N1 and H3N2 subtypes of influenza A virus and the Victoria and Yamagata strains of influenza B virus, which can cause seasonal epidemics every year. The main manifestations of influenza are sudden high fever (39℃～40℃), headache, muscle aches and general discomfort, sore throat, dry cough, nasal congestion, runny nose, discomfort behind the sternum, facial flushing, conjunctival congestion, etc. Among the complications, pneumonia is the most common, and other complications include nervous system damage, heart damage, myositis and rhabdomyolysis, shock, etc. Children with influenza are more likely to suffer from laryngitis, otitis media, and bronchitis than ordinary people. Influenza outbreaks are prone to occur in places where people gather, such as schools, childcare institutions, and nursing homes. The general population is susceptible to influenza viruses, and high-risk groups such as pregnant women, infants, the elderly and patients with chronic diseases are more seriously harmed when infected with influenza.
Preventive measures: 1. Regular influenza vaccination is the most effective way to prevent influenza. 2. Maintain good personal hygiene habits and wash hands frequently. 3. During the influenza epidemic season, high-risk groups are advised to reduce visits to crowded places. 4. It is recommended to wear a mask, cover your mouth and nose with tissues, towels, etc. when coughing or sneezing, and then wash your hands, and try to avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth. 5. It is also important to disinfect the room regularly, ventilate frequently to strengthen air circulation, have a regular work and rest schedule, have a balanced diet, avoid overwork, and maintain your own immunity.
2. Norovirus
Norovirus is an RNA virus that is very prone to mutation. New mutants appear every few years, causing global or regional outbreaks.
Norovirus has the characteristics of short incubation period, rapid mutation, strong environmental resistance, diverse transmission routes, and low infection dose. Therefore, it is easy to spread among people and is a common pathogen that causes acute gastroenteritis. Symptoms usually appear 12-48 hours after ingestion of the virus. The most common symptoms are diarrhea and vomiting, followed by nausea, abdominal pain, headache, fever, chills, and muscle aches. Children mainly vomit, while adults mainly suffer from diarrhea.
The virus gene is diverse and highly variable. Direct contact with infected people or objects and surfaces contaminated by them, such as door handles, toilet facilities, toys, etc., may lead to the spread of norovirus. When an infected person vomits or has diarrhea, the virus can be spread into the air through droplets and then settle on surrounding objects or surfaces. Others may also be infected by the virus after contacting these surfaces. Norovirus infection is usually self-limiting and has a good prognosis.
Preventive measures: 1. Wash your hands frequently and thoroughly with soap and running water. 2. Cook food thoroughly and boil drinking water. 3. Clean and disinfect the environment regularly, and use chlorine-containing disinfectants to clean and disinfect the surface of vomited by patients. 4. If you have symptoms such as vomiting and diarrhea, you should seek medical attention and rest at home in time, and avoid close contact with others to prevent infection.
3. Dengue Fever
Dengue fever (DF) is an acute infectious disease caused by dengue virus and transmitted by mosquito bites and blood sucking. It is a Class B statutory infectious disease in my country. The high incidence season of dengue fever is summer and autumn. Generally, it starts to increase gradually from May, and the peak period is from September to November!
The virus incubation period is 3-14 days, generally 5-9 days, and the whole population is generally susceptible. After being infected with dengue fever, patients often have five symptoms. High fever: body temperature can be as high as 40℃ or above, headache, especially behind the eye sockets and forehead; muscle and joint pain: severe cases can last for several days, affecting daily life; rash: appears 2-5 days after fever, common in limbs and trunk; bleeding tendency: a few patients may have nose bleeding, gum bleeding or subcutaneous ecchymosis.
At present, the dengue fever epidemic situation in Southeast Asian and American countries is severe, and local dengue fever epidemics have occurred in Guangdong Province and Yunnan Province in China; at the same time, the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day are approaching, and the flow of people has increased. Once a case is imported, the risk of local cases is high. Therefore, when traveling, you should take anti-mosquito measures to prevent dengue fever.
Preventive measures: 1. Anti-mosquito isolation. Patients and latently infected persons should use mosquito nets, mosquito repellents and other anti-mosquito measures to prevent mosquito bites and then infect others. 2. Clean and disinfect the space environment, remove stagnant water in the home and surrounding environment, and reduce mosquito breeding grounds. Flower pots, hydroponic plants, tires and other places prone to stagnant water should be cleaned regularly. 3. Wear light-colored long-sleeved clothes and long pants when going out, and apply mosquito repellent on exposed skin and clothes.
