Johannesburg - Physical distancing and wearing a mask might not only help stop the spread of Covid-19 but also other respiratory diseases.
While the winter is usually the flu season, this year has been different, according to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
The latest communicable diseases communiqué indicates that other than the flu outbreak in the Western Cape at the beginning of the year, there has only been one case detected in Gauteng in June.
“Over the past 36 years, the influenza season has started in week 28 (week ending 12 July). This year, the various hygiene and physical distancing measures being implemented to reduce Sars-CoV2 virus transmission has likely played a role in interrupting influenza virus transmission.
“Globally, influenza activity has been at lower levels than expected and to date, none of the southern hemisphere countries have reported any influenza activity.”
Flu is not the only disease that has seen a drop as a result of physical distancing and better hygiene conditions.
The number of invasive meningococcal diseases (IMD) have also gone down by half when compared to the last two years. From January to June, only 23 cases have been confirmed by laboratories.
“There has been an unusual drop in IMD since the lockdown movement restrictions were implemented in South Africa in March 2020, with an absence of the usual autumn increase in cases seen in previous years.
“This reduction may be related to reduced transmission of Neisseria meningitidis through respiratory droplets due to mask-wearing, physical distancing, and school/university/ workplace closures. Due to the severity of meningococcal presentation, it is unlikely that reduced health-seeking behaviour during this time has impacted much on the reduction of IMD,” the communiqué states.
The cases that have been detected are from the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KwaZulu Natal and.
Nine of the confirmed cases occurred in children younger than five years of age and five in infants.
The Star