Although the cases of flu or influenza They continue to register in different health centers, in some hospitals in Greater Santo Domingo the influx of patients has been variable during the last few days and during Saturday morning.
At the Dr. José Manuel Rodríguez Children’s Hospital, previously known as Santo Socorro, located in the National District, a high arrival of flu cases was not reported in the first hours of the day.
Despite this, Elizabeth, mother of an 8-year-old child, went to the center around 8:00 in the morning with her daughter, who had a fever and cough. The mother also indicated that her mother has similar symptoms.
“Today things have been slow, there are not so many children,” explained an emergency area staff who did not want to identify themselves. However, with hoarse voicesince it is also affected with virus flu, considered that in the afternoon the flow of minors could increase.
Among the symptoms presented by some of the children taken to the health center are: vomiting, fever, cough and congestion. Infants being treated in the hospital are receiving nebulization as part of the treatment.
Marcelino Velez
At the Doctor Marcelino Vélez Santana Regional General Hospital, located in the Santo Domingo Oeste municipality, the situation is different. Dr. Grullón, emergency pediatrician and staff doctor at the center, indicated that daily and frequently receive cases of flu.
- As he explained, infants who arrive at the hospital present with cough, watery eyes and nose, sneezing, pain of chest, respiratory distress, fever and general malaise.
The doctor herself even confessed: “I am just like those children,” indicating that He also suffers from the flu.
Moscoso Puello
Meanwhile, at the Dr. Francisco E. Moscoso Puello teaching hospital, the cases are not limited only to minors. Both children and adults affected by the disease come to the center. virus. This is the case of Cristian Carmonawho showed up early this Saturday accompanied by his 22-year-old wife, who has been suffering from nasal congestion, difficulty breathing, cough and cold for more than two days.
Carmona stated that, according to his wife, “there are many people “In there they are like this, with those same symptoms.”
Specialist warns about variant of influenza
The intensivist pulmonologist Emil Jorge Manzur explained that the virus currently circulating corresponds to a subtype of influenza “more aggressive”, like the H3N2which “is detected with the same test influenza“He indicated that these tests can cost between 1,800 and 3,000 pesos, depending on the laboratory, and that they are not usually covered by the medical insurance.
“The specific one appears on the respiratory panel short, or respiratory panel Filmarray”, Indian.
- These tests range between 3,500 pesos per proof short and between RD$12,500 and RD$13,500 the FilmArray.
The specialist ruled out that it is a new pandemic. “We are not going to have a pandemic because that would determine something new, this is not new, this is a new version of the same virus,” he stated. However, he warned that the problem lies in the large number of people affected at the same time, which causes work absences and saturation of emergency services.
Manzur pointed out that he has treated “quite a few” cases and that he even keeps patients with severe influenza in emergency rooms.
Regarding prevention measures, he recommended social distancingfrequent hand washing, use of a mask and avoiding meetings if they arise flu symptoms. “If anyone has fludon’t get together on the 24th. If you are sick, don’t get together with the old people,” he urged.
The specialist called the collective consciousness. “Don’t go see other people if you have symptoms, because you don’t know what you have. The fact that you don’t have influenza o Covid-19 doesn’t mean you can’t have one of the others contagious diseases“he concluded.
