It's the season for coughing and sneezin'

It's that time of year again. Holiday cheer fills the air, along with, it seems, an abundance of coughs, sniffles and wheezes.

The common flu is on the rise. A relatively high number of Covid cases has also been registered this winter; however, this figure appears to be going down now.

The RS virus is also doing the rounds. The RS (Respiratory syncytial) virus is a very common virus that can cause infections of the respiratory tract.

Eight cases of whooping cough have been registered in the past couple of weeks. Two of these are younger than two years old.

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Then there are also a few cases of mycoplasma infections, which can cause COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease), a chronic disease in the lungs where the lung tissue is slowly damaged, resulting in increasing shortness of breath.

Mycoplasma has not been seen in the Faroes since 2019, but up to 40 cases have been recorded since September, according to chief medical officer Lars Fodgaard Møller.

“A weakened immune response in the wake of the Covid pandemic could be a contributing factor to the current spike in infectious diseases.”

Lars Fodgaard Møller, Landslæknin

Frítekst tagging: 

Lars Fodgaard Møller

landslækni

Korona

Caption: 

Chief medical officer Lars Fodgaard Møller

He offers the following advice for the holiday season:

“We all became really good at taking care of ourselves during the Covid pandemic, and it would be a good idea to go back to practising those same health precautions now,” he says.

“If you feel any symptoms, try to stay away from others as much as possible, especially the elderly. Practise good hand hygiene, cough into your elbow and remember to open windows and doors frequently to allow for fresh air circulation.”

Read the Faroese version of this article here.

English version by prosa.fo.

More Faroese News in English.