Europe battles ‘tridemic’ of respiratory illnesses

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Europe is facing a “tridemic” that threatens to push health systems to the limit as a surge in flu cases is compounded by Covid-19 and other respiratory illnesses.

Spain and Italy are among the countries worst affected as hospitals struggle to cope with an influx of patients and coronavirus-era mask mandates are reintroduced in health facilities in some regions.

Upticks in cases have also been reported in Germany, where the public health authority said a flu wave officially began on December 11, and in France, where 10 out of 18 regions are officially in an epidemic phase. In the UK, there has been a slight rise in flu cases and hospitalisations, with officials warning that the peak was yet to come.

In Spain, Christmas superspreader events led to an increase in flu cases by 75 per cent in the final week of 2023, according to data from the state-backed Carlos III Health Institute. Reports of flu leading to severe pneumonia are proliferating.

Nearly half of all flu tests in Spain came back positive in the last week of December versus 27 per cent in the previous seven days. Covid-19 cases stabilised with only 10 per cent of tests positive at the end of 2023, but the virus was causing a rising number of hospital admissions, especially among people over 80, the Carlos III institute said.

Children, meanwhile, were coming down with respiratory syncytial virus, which can cause bronchiolitis and has led to a sharp rise in hospitalisations of infants aged under one.

The mix of flu, Covid and RSV cast a shadow over a European festive season punctuated by coughs, colds and people bowing out of celebrations because they felt too unwell. Those who made it were met with conversations about who was vaccinated against flu and…