This flu season is a very strange one - infectologist

RIGA - This flu season is extremely peculiar, said Professor Uga Dumpis, Infectologist at Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital, in an interview on TV3 this morning.

The flu epidemic is very long this year - while it usually lasts for a month, it is now in its third month, when the number of flu patients at Stradins Hospital is virtually unchanged, the medical expert explained.

At the same time, the good news is that there are far fewer Covid-19 patients this season, he pointed out.

Asked whether new outbreaks of diseases, including Covid-19, could occur in the future, Dumpis assessed that coronavirus is unlikely, although it cannot be ruled out. In his view, the threat is more likely to come from influenza and also from avian influenza, i.e. that it could enter humans. "Then there could be problems, but that cannot be predicted yet," he said.

Dumpis revealed that his main work at the moment is dealing with antibiotics and resistance issues. He is working on how to treat patients with antibiotic-resistant bacteria and how to organize infection control measures.

The infectologist also stressed that there is a move towards so-called One Health, i.e. cooperation with the veterinary and environmental sectors, because antibiotic use and resistant bacteria are not just a human issue. "It is a complex, extremely complex issue. The problems are there and they are getting worse," he acknowledged.

However, Dumpis stressed that progress is being made on this issue. "I think this is one of the areas of medicine in Latvia where we do not look bad against the European background," he said.