POINT-OF-CARE TESTING
between week 40 of 2023 and week 14 of 2024 were reported by care homes, 5.1% from educational settings and 10.5% from hospitals.2
with compromised or underdeveloped immune systems provides even more reason to intervene quickly when respiratory viruses are suspected.
n Influenza The measures implemented to combat COVID-19 initially led to a decline in influenza rates, but those numbers quickly rebounded once social activities resumed. Recent influenza outbreaks since the COVID-19 pandemic have been unpredictable in both timing and severity. Most surveillance systems in the UK indicated lower influenza activity in the 2023/24 season than in the 2022/23 season, and models attributed approximately 2,776 deaths in England to influenza, compared to 15,465 in the previous season.2
However, viral
Multiplexed PCR assays such as the Xpert Xpress CoV-2/Flu/RSV plus from Cepheid represent an ideal solution for addressing the overwhelming demand for respiratory diagnostics in record time.
syncytial virus (RSV) cases that have threatened to overwhelm healthcare systems. We also all witnessed the isolation measures, lockdown, and social distancing that were put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic, and noticed how this affected the transmission of all respiratory viruses. However, the return of domestic and international travel, along with large social gatherings, soon saw a resurgence of influenza and RSV strains that had previously been kept in check. The tumultuous winter seasons that immediately followed the pandemic were full of uncertainty as to the threat of these viruses, and whether healthcare settings would be able to respond quickly in the event of another, potentially different outbreak.
At the same time, healthcare funding has continued to tighten and, under current plans, the average annual growth in health funding in real terms will fall to 3% from 2019/20 to 2024/25, which is below the pre-COVID long-term annual average figures recorded in England since
1979/80.1
This has placed healthcare settings in the challenging position of needing to step up testing to ensure pandemic preparedness despite limited funding, underscoring the importance of efficient diagnostic methods. Patients are also more aware of the pressures on emergency departments through media coverage, and some are reluctant to present themselves for assessment and treatment for fear of adding to this pressure.
The uncertainty of winter threats SARS-CoV-2, influenza A and B, and RSV remain a significant threat to public health, particularly during the winter season. It is this seasonality that presents a challenge to healthcare settings, as care providers grapple with sudden and unpredictable influxes of virus cases. The majority of these infections affect the most vulnerable people in society; in England, 81% of the total 2,051 acute respiratory infections (ARI)
PCR tests are crucial for accurately diagnosing and differentiating between respiratory illnesses that often share overlapping symptoms
24
activity in 2023/24 lasted longer than the previous season, despite lower peak activity, showing variation in the timing of outbreaks. Vaccine initiatives are likely to be helping to keep incidence numbers somewhat under control, but their effectiveness in preventing hospitalisation among those aged 65 and older is estimated to be only around 30%.2 Uptake of influenza vaccine in the UK was generally lower in 2023/24 compared to the previous season, potentially creating concerns for the upcoming winter.2
The strain of influenza can also fluctuate; influenza A dominated in 2023, but influenza B type Victoria lineage has become more prominent in 2024, with a simultaneous decline in influenza A. Understanding the prevalence of influenza strains is critical, as occasionally strains appear that create a major public health emergency, such as two separate strains of the influenza A subtype H1N1, which were responsible for the 1918 and 2009 pandemics, the former resulting in an estimated 50 million deaths worldwide.3
n SARS-CoV-2 Even now, several years after the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare settings are still feeling the lasting impact of the virus. Despite novel vaccines and extensive public health initiatives drastically reducing the spread of SARS-CoV-2, it’s clear that the virus is here to stay. SARS-CoV-2 was responsible for 53.3% of the total 2,051 ARI incidents between week 40 of 2023 and week 14 of 2024.2
So far in 2024,
193 SARS-CoV-2 deaths have been reported in the UK as of 8 August 2024,
DECEMBER 2024
WWW.PATHOLOGYINPRACTICE.COM
The risk for those
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
