Flu in Serbia: Seven Confirmed Cases, Two Imported
Batut's director says seven flu cases have been confirmed since early October, type A dominates, and now is the right time to get the flu vaccine.
Has the flu reached Serbia yet? It has, though so far only in small numbers: since the start of October, seven flu cases have been confirmed in laboratories. The figure was announced today, October 20, by Verica Jovanovic, director of the Institute of Public Health of Serbia “Dr Milan Jovanovic Batut,” in a statement to Tanjug.
Her message is that the number of people with acute respiratory infections is expected to rise in the coming period, which is why now is the right time to get immunized.
Where were the cases found, and which virus is behind them?
The cases have so far been registered in Belgrade, the Macva district and the Branicevo district. The samples are dominated by type A influenza.
Two of the seven cases did not originate in Serbia. Jovanovic explained how that is known:
“Based on the analysis and the data we get from questionnaires filled in by the patients, we have confirmation that two cases were in fact imported and that these people came from abroad, where the same type of virus that we have confirmed here is also in circulation. So in the coming period we expect a mild rise in the frequency of acute respiratory infections, as well as flu-like illnesses.”
Flu is not the only virus going around right now. According to her, rhinoviruses, adenoviruses and SARS-CoV-2 are all circulating at the same time, and their symptoms of sore throat, runny nose and raised temperature overlap. That is why, she says, a sudden onset of high fever is the feature to look for in the clinical picture.
Why is vaccination recommended right now?
Immunity develops two to three weeks after the shot. If you wait for the real wave, protection arrives too late. Vaccination in Serbia began on October 14, so there is still time.
This season trivalent vaccines are being used, as recommended by the World Health Organization. About 315,000 doses are planned for health facilities. Most of them, around 290,000, are the domestic vaccine from the Torlak Institute, and the rest are vaccines for children older than six months.
Who is the vaccine recommended for?
Jovanovic said vaccination is primarily recommended for these groups:
- chronic patients with heart, blood vessel and lung disease
- dialysis patients
- people with diabetes
- people with systemic and malignant diseases
- everyone over 65
- pregnant women
- children older than six months
- residents and staff of geriatric care centers
How do you get the vaccine?
The vaccine is given at more than 800 vaccination points, including all community health centers. At the point you can ask whether a check-up with your family doctor is needed first. According to Jovanovic, people are most often sent straight to the vaccination point. There is one condition: on the day of vaccination you must be healthy, with no acute symptoms that would call for postponing the shot.
The director of Batut summed it up this way:
“We have more than 800 vaccination points, including all community health centers across our country. The basic message is that it is the right time to get vaccinated and to protect yourself against the flu virus, which will inevitably arrive this season with a much higher incidence and much more frequent occurrence than in these weeks.”
For those planning to get vaccinated, it is enough to know which community health center is nearest and to go when you have no fever and no other acute symptoms.
