According to the National Health Supervision Commission, 31 provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities) and the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps reported 8,655 new cases of local infections at 0-24 on March 29, including local There are 1565 cases and 7090 asymptomatic infections.
There have been a large number of asymptomatic infections in this round of epidemic. Is Omicron really a “big flu”?
On March 29, Lu Hongzhou, head of the first Shenzhen epidemic prevention and control public health expert group, deputy secretary of the party committee and president of the Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital, made a speech on the People’s Daily Health Client “Epidemic Normality” It was introduced in the live broadcast of “Strengthening Protection” that this round of epidemics is mainly a mutant strain of Omicron. The mutant strain of Omicron is characterized by very strong infectivity and weakened toxicity. Some European and American countries think that the Ormicon strain is a “big flu”, but it is not. In many countries, after more than two years of repeated infection of a large number of people and widespread vaccination, the pathogenicity has weakened. If not vaccinated, the Omicron strain can still cause a lot of severe illness and death.
In addition, many people believe that the trend of new coronavirus mutations is that the virulence is gradually weakened. In this regard, Dean Lu Hongzhou said that this statement is not comprehensive. For example, the delta strain is mutated from the original strain, but the pathogenicity and infectivity of the delta strain are higher than the original strain in early 2020. Strong; there is also the Ebola virus discovered in 1976, and the virulence of the Ebola virus has not weakened so far. Therefore, controlling the widespread spread of the virus in the population is an important means to prevent the virus from continuing to mutate.
Most of the patients diagnosed in this round of epidemic have mild symptoms. Why are there more symptoms of nasopharyngeal discomfort?
On March 29, Yin Yong, director of the Department of Respiratory Medicine of the National Children’s Medical Center and Shanghai Children’s Medical Center, introduced in the live broadcast of “Normalization of Epidemic Epidemic and Strengthening Protection” on the People’s Daily Health Client. Omicron replicates much faster in bronchial cells than the previous variant, but slower in cells in the lower part of the lung. The other strains begin to multiply in the bronchi after about 72 hours, and this strain starts at 24. Breeding within hours also means the variant is more likely to be expelled into the air as droplets and spread to more people. In terms of symptoms, the damage caused by the infection caused by Omicron is limited to the upper respiratory tract, such as the nose, throat and respiratory tract.
Zhu Dongdong, member of the Standing Committee of the Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery Branch of the Chinese Medical Association and vice president of the China-Japan Friendship Hospital of Jilin University, introduced on March 29 in the live broadcast of the People’s Daily Health Client “Normalization of Epidemic and Strengthening Protection” , the mutant strains produced higher concentrations of virus in the nasal cavity, and we found higher viral loads in nasal swabs compared to throat swabs. Therefore, the infected person exhales more virus each time they exhale, so safe, effective and comprehensive protection is very important. Therefore, most of this wave of epidemics are mild or asymptomatic infections, as is the case with the recent epidemics in Jilin and Shanghai.
Experts remind: In addition to daily protection, we must also pay attention to nasal cleaning
Daily protection against the normalization of the new crown epidemic. Professor Zhu Dongdong reminded that no matter how the new coronavirus mutates, it is still spread through droplets, direct contact and indirect contact. To prevent virus infection, it is necessary to standardize wearing masks, wash hands, wash nose, pay attention to hand disinfection, and keep it in public places. 1 meter social distance to minimize crowd gathering. Because the Omicron variant basically invades the nasal cavity and nasopharyngeal mucosa, and replicates in the upper airway, more attention should be paid to the cleaning and care of the nasal cavity. Before nasal irrigation, it has been widely used in the treatment of various diseases such as nasal cavity and sinus, including colds, rhinitis, sinusitis, allergic rhinitis, etc. Nasal irrigation can effectively physically remove common pathogens such as bacteria and dust in the nasal cavity.
In addition, virus transmission mainly starts from the respiratory tract. The nasal cavity is the starting end of the entire airway. It not only regulates breathing, smell, and assists pronunciation, but also fights viruses and bacteria. , the protective effect of particulate pollutants, so the nasal cavity is our first line of defense. Therefore, in the new crown cases, the viral load of nasal swabs is higher than that of throat swabs. Many individuals of the new crown show symptoms of the upper respiratory tract. If the virus adheres to our respiratory tract for a long time, invades the mucosa, or even integrates into the human mucosal cells, people are easily infected with the virus.
In terms of clinical application, Professor Lu Hongzhou introduced that at present, our Shenzhen Third People’s Hospital mainly uses nasal irrigation as one of the treatment methods in the treatment of new crown patients, which can reduce the adhesion of mucosal viruses. Speed up the virus turning negative and speed up recovery. For ordinary people, it is recommended to flush the nasal cavity with sea salt water/normal saline daily to reduce the residence time of the virus in the nasal mucosa.
Finally, Professor Yin Yong also said that nasal irrigation is a more effective protective measure during the epidemic. It can not only strengthen protection with measures such as wearing a mask, but also restore the inherent self-cleaning ability of the nasal cavity. , enhance the body’s resistance, thereby preventing the occurrence of rhinitis and upper respiratory tract infections, and also reduce the inconvenience and risk of medical treatment during special periods, and minimize the occupation of medical resources, protect yourself and indirectly contribute to the fight against the epidemic.
