Flu, Covid and respitatory infections on the rise across Bulgaria

The number of cases of flu, Covid-19 and other respiratory infections is increasing. In the penultimate week of last year, the incidence was over 120 per 10 000 people nationwide. Doctors report that it is possible for one person to be sick with two types of flu, and with both Covid and flu. For now, the pressure on hospitals is not great, but patients outside GP surgeries are increasing. In some districts, such as Burgas, the authorities have tightened controls at the entrance to schools and kindergartens.

"The measures are the same as the ones during the Covid-19 pandemic. This is also an airborne disease. The same measures, introduced and implemented, could reduce the incidence," said Dr. Miroslava Kiselkova, RHI-Burgas.

"Parents cannot be absent from work and many children are brought to kindergarten sick. A child with a runny nose should not go to kindergarten, because in this way the child may infect other kids," Prof. Svetlana Velizarova, Head of Pulmonology Clinic of "Prof. Ivan Mitev" hospital, said.

"A number of large cities have an increased incidence. It is also advisable for them to consider measures they could introduce to limit spread at least a little," explained prof. Iva Hristova - Director of the National Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases.

In Rousse, Dr. Aidan Dhiniev reports a significant increase in the number of patients with flu-like symptoms since the holidays.

"For the time being, it is mostly upper respiratory tract involvement, but there are also those with lower respiratory tract involvement, with bronchitis and a few severe cases with pneumonia that have been, for example, hospitalized this week. I think it's three," explained Dr. Aidan Dhiniev, a general practitioner.

The infectious disease clinic at Plovdiv's “St. George” Hospital, which is the only one in the district, has admitted 20 people with COVID-19.

"After the holidays, there were about 30 on January 2. We has small number of cases of flu, one or two in hospital, at the moment there are none - influenza type A was confirmed," said Assoc. Prof. Ivan Baltadzhiev, Clinic of Infectious Diseases at the University Hospital "St. George", Plovdiv.

In Sofia, the incidence of influenza and respiratory infections is still far from epidemic levels, but after the holidays, patients of Dr Nikolova with flu-like symptoms have increased.

"The number of people testing positive for influenza has spiked. Some test positive for Covid-19, and there are patients who have both influenza and Covid-19, or both types of flu," explained Dr. Gergana Nikolova, a general practitioner.

Although rare, there are patients with complications after flu. In the pulmonary ward of the children's hospital in Sofia, all 10 beds are occupied by patients with serious chronic diseases and infants who have complications after viral infections.

“We had very few children with flu. There are no children with complications after Covid-19. There are Covid-19 cases, with mild symptoms. As it is known, almost 30% of the Covid-19 cases do not develop any symptoms." said Prof. Svetlana Velizarova, head of the pulmonology clinic of "Prof. Ivan Mitev" hospital.

"The flu is coming but not yet with such mass circulation. So if there is an increased demand for hospital care, it will be in the near future," prof. Iva Hristova, Director of the National Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, said.

For the time being, no preventive measures are planned to be introduced in schools and kindergartens in Sofia. The flu peak is expected in early February.