News from our correspondent (Sun Leqi) Recently, many citizens on social networks reported that they had sore throats, and some people suspected that it was related to the infection of the new coronavirus strain. Li Dong, the chief physician of the General Infection Department of Beijing You'an Hospital, said that the number of patients with respiratory diseases in the outpatient department of the General Infection Department of the hospital increased slightly this month compared with last month, most of whom were patients with ordinary upper respiratory infections, and the proportion of patients with influenza and new coronavirus was very low.
Li Dong once said that the main reason for preschool children's sore throat in the recent outpatient service is herpetic angina. The disease mostly occurs in children under 6 years old, and is caused by coxsackie virus A and enterovirus 71. The symptoms of the disease are fever, sore throat, herpes and swelling in the pharynx.
"This disease is caused by the same pathogen as hand, foot and mouth disease. With the vaccine against the more 'severe' enterovirus 71, most of the cases now appear to be caused by coxsackie virus A." Li Dong once said that some children with herpetic angina may have high fever, which worried parents, but most of the children's conditions are mild, "Generally, they can recover in about a week."
At present, the infection general department of You'an Hospital receives upper respiratory symptoms such as sore throat of school-age children and adolescents, which are mainly caused by scarlet fever. Scarlet fever is an acute exanthematous infectious disease caused by Group A beta hemolytic streptococci. It usually occurs in children aged 5 to 9 years old. Its symptoms include sore throat, "strawberry tongue", "bayberry tongue", rash and fever. Most children have mild symptoms, and can recover after one week of symptomatic use of antibiotics. However, due to the long detection cycle of the disease etiology, it is easy to be misdiagnosed as upper respiratory tract virus infection, delaying treatment and causing transmission.
For adults, the main causes of pharyngodynia are common upper respiratory tract infections such as rhinovirus, adenovirus and streptococcus. Li Dong once said that in terms of the number of outpatients, the number of patients with respiratory tract infection did not increase significantly compared with last month. "The symptoms of this group of infected patients are not as serious as influenza or COVID-19, so most people may not go to the hospital for treatment."
As the weather gets hotter and hotter, people's willingness to wear masks gradually declines. More air conditioners are turned on and less windows are opened for ventilation, which will increase the risk of infection of respiratory diseases. Li Dong once reminded that respiratory diseases have not "stopped fighting", but still pay attention to personal health. More windows should be opened indoors for ventilation. It is better to wear masks when going to places where people are crowded and the air circulation is not smooth. You should always wash your hands frequently.
If children have rash and fever symptoms, they should first rest at home and not go to school with illness. In case of continuous high fever, high fever with no obvious effect of antipyretic drugs, or sleepiness, mental depression, irritability, frequent vomiting, and involuntary shaking of limbs, you must seek medical advice in time. "The course of respiratory infectious disease is generally 5-7 days, and high fever may occur in the first 3 days. Parents should not panic but also be alert."
In addition, Li Dong once suggested that school-age children should be vaccinated with inactivated enterovirus 71 vaccine to reduce the risk of infection and severe disease.
