The Assistant Minister of Health and Population for Preventive Medicine, Amr Kandil, revealed that the most prevalent virus in Egypt currently is the seasonal H1N1 influenza strain, which is the dominant pattern in North and Central Africa this season, while the H3 strain is more prevalent elsewhere.
During an interview with the Al-Hayah TV channel on Saturday, he confirmed that the health situation in Egypt is stable and there is no cause for concern at this time of year.
Kandil explained that the winter season sees increased activity of respiratory viruses globally and locally every year, from November to February.
He emphasized that no new viruses or unusual mutations have been detected in Egypt or anywhere else in the world so far.
The symptoms of seasonal influenza this year may appear more severe, he noted, with the illness lasting from three to five days instead of the usual two days.
Influenza accounts for 60 percent of all current respiratory infections, Kandil added.
Immunity gap
Kandil explained that current infection rates are consistent with those recorded in 2014 and 2019 (before the COVID-19 pandemic), attributing the perceived increase in flu cases to an immunity gap.
He clarified that community immunity to the common flu declined during the 2020-2022 pandemic years due to the dominance of the coronavirus at that time, making the return of the flu seem more apparent now.
Regarding the coronavirus, Kandil confirmed that the World Health Organization declared the end of the pandemic in 2023, transforming COVID-19 into a common respiratory disease among seasonal viruses.
He announced that the current infection rate of COVID-19 in Egypt does not exceed two percent of all respiratory viruses, explaining that the last significant variant was Omicron.
Current variants are minor and do not affect the rate of transmission or the severity of infection, he assured.
