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ARCHIVED - Has the Omicron variant kept flu at bay in Alicante province?
Doctors believe highly contagious Omicron variant may be slowing down the spread of the flu virus in Alicante
The health sector feared the sixth wave of the Covid pandemic, which has seen infections soar, would be joined by a flu epidemic mounting further pressure on overrun hospitals and medical centres.
But so far, this has not been the case. February has begun without the annual epidemic having made an appearance in Alicante province, and doctors have a number of theories, including the possibility the Omicron variant has kept the flu at bay.
The flu season normally starts at the end of December or beginning of January when it reaches its peak on the Costa Blanca. It tends to be a little later in the north of Spain and the rest of Europe.
Specialists are considering different theories to explain the absence of the winter virus, and have warned it may not make its presence felt until April.
"It may be that while another virus is circulating very intensely, the flu virus does not show itself," said Xavier López-Labrador, head of the Virology Laboratory at Fisabio Public Health in Valencia.
"Although in clear decline, we are at a time when SARS-CoV-2 is circulating very intensely with the Omicron variant as the protagonist, which would be 'eating' the ground of other viruses, such as influenza. Something similar happened with the respiratory syncytial virus, responsible for bronchiolitis, which barely circulated last winter," he added.
But researchers do expect the flu virus to circulate, and predict it could be within the next two months.
"If there is indeed a drop in the number of infections and in the circulation of bronchiolitis, there could be a flu epidemic in the region by April," added López-Labrador.
Other theories as to why there are hardly any cases of flu at the moment is the fact that face masks and social distancing have been mandatory for more than 18 months to combat the coronavirus pandemic, "which has also reduced the transmission of other viruses".
The health network that usually controls the incidence of influenza in the Valencian region is not operational due to the current pandemic, "as is the case in other areas of Spain", according to the Regional Ministry of Health, and so there is no official data on the circulation of the flu virus.
However, López-Labrador coordinates an active surveillance network for serious cases of flu, which includes four hospitals in the region and records admissions due to influenza.
According to this data, only five people have been admitted to these four hospitals with the virus this winter.
"Normally at this time of year we would have 500 people admitted, the current figure is really low," said the researcher, adding that GPs are hardly seeing any cases of flu either.
If the province does manage to avoid the flu season, it would be the second consecutive year without an explosion of the virus, which typically leads to an increase in hospitalisations and overwhelms hospital emergency departments.
Last autumn, experts sounded the alarm when the Government began to relax anti-Covid measures, warning that after a year without a flu epidemic, the virus could strike with much more force this year.
So far, fortunately, this has not been the case.
Also of interest: How to book a Covid vaccine in Spain and How to get a Covid passport in Spain
Image: Archive
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