New Year’s Day is coming. Learn about the current development trends of epidemics in our country in this article to protect your health during the holidays!

The New Year's Day holiday is coming, but winter respiratory diseases and some other epidemics are still at a high incidence in my country recently. If we want to spend the holiday happily, safely and healthily, we must not relax the prevention and control of epidemics. So, with the increase in the flow of people, how can we protect our health during the holidays? On December 28, the National Health Commission held a press conference to respond to recent hot health issues.

01 COVID-19 is prevalent at a low level, and multiple respiratory diseases are prevalent alternately or simultaneously

Peng Zhibin, director of the Respiratory Infectious Diseases Office of the Infectious Disease Management Department of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, introduced that the current domestic COVID-19 epidemic is at a low level of prevalence, and JN.1 accounts for a low proportion, but it is also on the rise, and it is likely to gradually develop into a domestic epidemic strain . JN.1 is the second-generation sub-branch of the BA.2.86 variant of the new coronavirus Omicron, and is also a sub-branch with a strong transmission advantage among the BA.2.86 variants. The variant was first detected in samples collected in Luxembourg on August 25 this year. Since November, due to the rapid growth of JN.1's proportion in the global prevalent strains, the World Health Organization upgraded the BA.2.86 variant from a "variant to be monitored" (VUM) to a "variant of concern" (VOI) on November 21. From the recent assessment of the World Health Organization based on existing evidence, it is believed that the transmission and immune escape capabilities of JN.1 are enhanced, but there is no evidence to suggest that its pathogenicity has increased.

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Peng Zhibin said that since the beginning of winter this year, there has been a trend of alternating or co-epidemic of multiple respiratory disease pathogens in China. At present, according to monitoring results, respiratory disease pathogens are mainly influenza viruses, and most provinces have reached the peak of influenza epidemics, which will then show a gradual downward trend . The activities of pathogens such as Mycoplasma pneumoniae, adenovirus, and respiratory syncytial virus are showing low-level fluctuations.

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Peng Zhibin said that with the New Year's Day and Spring Festival holidays approaching, the flow of people will increase significantly, and it is expected that the COVID-19 epidemic in China may rebound to a certain extent . During the Spring Festival travel period, the epidemic of COVID-19 and other respiratory infectious diseases may increase, especially increasing the risk of severe illness and death among vulnerable groups such as the elderly and patients with chronic underlying diseases, which may put certain pressure on the medical service system in rural areas with relatively weak treatment capabilities. Careful arrangements are needed and preparations in all aspects should be made in advance. In the next step, we will continue to pay attention to the changes in the epidemic situation and epidemic strains abroad, and conduct timely monitoring, early warning and risk assessment.

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02 How to protect your health during the New Year’s Day holiday?

During the holidays, the number of gatherings such as visiting relatives and friends, traveling, and dining together will increase accordingly. Peng Zhibin suggested that the public take four self-protection measures:

(1) Before traveling, you should pay close attention to the epidemic situation of infectious diseases at your destination and the information released by relevant departments. If you have fever, cough or other related symptoms, it is recommended that you postpone your travel.

(2) Maintain good personal hygiene habits during the trip, wear masks properly, wash hands frequently and pay attention to food hygiene. Third, after returning, you should monitor your health and seek medical attention in time if you experience any discomfort.

(3) People traveling abroad should proactively inform their doctors of their travel history. Fourth, timely vaccination against COVID-19, influenza, pneumonia, etc.

(4) Ice parks and ski resorts have become popular holiday destinations. To ensure the safety of children, Wang Quan, chief physician at Beijing Children's Hospital, said that parents should choose regular and safe activity venues and entertainment facilities for their children, understand the safety facilities, safety signs and necessary rescue equipment and instruments at the activity venues, and avoid taking children to skate on wild ice.

(5) Assess the safety of the activities that your child is about to participate in and choose activities that are suitable for their age, height, weight and physical condition. Parents should provide effective care and companionship, and not force their children to participate in activities that are too intense. If a child feels unwell or feels unable to participate in the activity, the activity should be stopped immediately.

How to properly arrange diet during festivals? Yu Kang, director of the Clinical Nutrition Department of Peking Union Medical College Hospital, said that during festivals, the total amount and variety of food consumed by the public tend to increase compared to normal days.

(1) Be careful to avoid overeating. Follow the principle of “not eating too much” at every meal, that is, eat until you are 70% to 80% full.

(2) Try to maintain the same eating pattern as usual and avoid eating too casually.

(3) Try to drink as little alcohol as possible and avoid drinking large amounts of strong alcohol. Especially the elderly, pregnant women, teenagers, and children should try not to drink at all.

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03 Prevention and treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases cannot be ignored

Ji Xunming, chief physician of the Stroke Center of Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University, reminded: During the cold wave, the elderly, heart patients, hypertension patients, and people at high risk of stroke need to strengthen protection, keep warm, avoid overwork and stay in cold weather for a long time . Once symptoms of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases are found, call 120 emergency number in time and go to the hospital for treatment.

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Ji Xunming introduced that when cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases occur, young people usually have more severe symptoms, but they lack the awareness of identifying cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases ; while the elderly have many atypical symptoms, such as fatigue, dizziness, unclear vision, memory loss, etc., which are easily ignored, leading to delays in medical treatment ; the causes of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases in the elderly are mostly atherosclerosis, and it is extremely important to control risk factors such as hypertension, hyperglycemia, and hyperlipidemia ; the physical condition of the elderly is different from that of the young, and the young may also have vascular inflammation, arterial dissection, vascular malformations or congenital related heart diseases , etc., and a comprehensive investigation of the causes is required.

Qi Wensheng, director of the emergency department of Guang'anmen Hospital of China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences, pointed out that the sudden drop in temperature in winter is likely to cause symptoms, such as colds and fevers, high incidence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, and aggravation of chronic diseases . You can take some warming and tonic medicines for prevention, control the indoor temperature within a certain range, drink more warm water, and humidify the air, which is conducive to preventing the occurrence of winter diseases.

Comprehensive sources: Xinhuanet, National Center for Disease Control and Prevention, etc.