Sore throat, vomiting, diarrhea, high fever … This summer in Lebanon, difficult to find someone who was not bed. The covid resurfaces, the intestinal viruses propagate and even the influenza symptoms are party. To understand this wave of diseases and know how to protect themselves from it, we interviewed Dr. Rola Housni Samaha, head of the Department of Internal Medicine in Laumc – Rizk Hospital, and specialist in infectious diseases.
1. Why this outbreak of covid, gastroenteritis and influenza syndromes in the middle of summer?
Not all respiratory viruses follow a strict seasonal cycle. The flu remains a winter virus, but the Covid is circulating all year round, without seasonal preference. It is quickly transmitted: when a person is infected with a group, most of the others are contaminated, unless they have acquired recent immunity – which only lasts three to six months. Result: every three to four months, a new wave arises, until the arrival of a new variant.
Promisescuity, lack of ventilation and time spent inside – air conditioning in summer, closed windows in winter – create ideal conditions for the propagation of the virus.
On the gastroenteritis side, the main culprit is currently rotavirus, in the midst of a global expansion. Very contagious, it is transmitted by oro-faster route, via contaminated foods or surfaces, and causes nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Viruses circulate all year round, but digestive infections can often be avoided thanks to good food and water hygiene. However, in Lebanon, the socio-economic crisis makes these gestures more and more difficult to apply. Many restaurants no longer comply with health standards, and access to drinking water becomes a luxury, which promotes diseases of food.
2. What are the most common symptoms this summer? Are they more serious or unusual?
The current variant of the covid mainly causes intense throat ailments, a strong fever, a dry cough and sometimes nausea. Digestive symptoms are less frequent than with previous variants. The majority of patients with signs are tested positive for COVID.
At the same time, epidemics of uninstated gastrointestinal viruses affect whole families, often due to insufficient hygiene or food contamination in non-compliant restaurants. Symptoms remain classic and in accordance with medical expectations.
3. What daily gestures can protect us?
Basic hygiene remains our best ally. Washing hands regularly helps prevent respiratory and digestive infections.
Make sure food and water safety: drink drinking water, avoid ice cubes of uncertain origin, favor well -cooked foods, especially in hot weather. Wash the fruits and vegetables carefully with clean water.
Strengthen your immune system with a healthy diet. Adapt your outfit to avoid thermal shocks linked to air conditioning or excessive heat. And adore the interior spaces as soon as possible to renew air and limit the concentration of viruses.