There is no diagnosis of a cold in medicine. There is a viral or bacterial infection. Dr. Petar Velikov from the Infectious Diseases Hospital in “Pulse” talks about the viruses we encounter during the autumn-winter period and the infections that cause them on NOVA NEWS.
The viruses that make us sick now are mainly coronavirus, rhinoviruses, metapneumoviruses and metainfluenza. Influenza viruses are expected in the coming months.
COVID-19
Two subtypes of COVID-19 are currently spreading.
The symptoms are non-specific - sore throat, runny nose, fever, cough, muscle and joint pain. There is no way to recognize it by symptoms, so the appropriate tests are also done. Their effectiveness is from 40% to 60%, and they must be done carefully and correctly to avoid a false negative result.
For a year and a half, there has been an official clinical pathway for people who have had coronavirus and need rehabilitation and follow-up examinations.
At the moment, there are severe cases of the disease, mainly in unvaccinated people.
The risk groups - the elderly, patients with concomitant diseases and young children.
The doctor explained that one of the acute manifestations after having COVID-19 can be myocarditis.
Dr. Velkikov pointed out that people are afraid of getting vaccinated because of the occurrence of myocarditis afterwards, but categorically stated that the risk of this is very small - 1 in 100,000 people.
In those who have had coronavirus, the risk is over 42 times higher, he added.
There is a vaccine against COVID-19 in the country.
The flu
Influenza viruses are very acute, unlike COVID-19, the doctor explained. Symptoms are - high fever, muscle and joint pain, cough, runny nose.
People with chronic diseases and young children are at risk.
The effective treatment against influenza viruses is antiviral drugs. However, they do have reactions, so the vaccine is the best prevention, the doctor added.
Use of antibiotics
Antibiotics are used for bacterial infections and do not work for viral ones.
Dr. Velikov also said that the most common patients returning from countries outside Europe have contracted malaria. The doctor said that there is a possibility of prophylaxis against the disease.