Virus alert in Luxembourg: “Do not take infants to supermarkets”
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Virus alert in Luxembourg“Don’t take infants to supermarkets”
LUXEMBOURG – The situation at the Kannerklinik remains very tense, due to bronchiolitis and the multiplication of viruses. The authorities are relaunching a call for help this Friday.
“The pressure is always enormous. The situation here at the children’s clinic remains very tense”, breathes this Friday Dr. Isabel de la Fuente, pediatrician specialist in infectious diseases at the CHL. “We are operating in crisis mode because we have a record hospitalization rate for the last ten years, with between 55 and 60 children hospitalized continuously”. Friday morning, the Kannerklinik also had eight children in intensive care, half for bronchiolitis. If the latter is the main cause of this wave of hospitalizations, it has stabilized.
But other viruses have come to complicate the situation. In addition to the Covid, the flu arrived earlier than usual this winter, with already 600 confirmed cases while the peak is still to come, according to Jean-Claude Schmit, director of Health, who calls for vaccination against this epidemic too. “We have been on the alert for weeks now (…), all the pediatric beds are occupied, doubly occupied”, confirms the LSAP Minister of Health, Paulette Lenert.
“You have to put infants in a bubble”
Health has put in place “scaling up plans between the different clinics which are able to take care of small children. We had added additional beds, which are now occupied, the sanitary reserve is activated. We seek to mobilize all possible resources. The health personnel show great flexibility, great creativity, ”continues the Minister. But, after years of Covid, that staff “is exhausted”.
At this point, “only the general population can help us,” resumes Dr. de la Fuente. She points out in passing that the little ones, especially those under 6 months old, are the most likely to develop pulmonary complications related to bronchiolitis. The flu, it is particularly dangerous up to 2 years, even 5 years. “You have to put infants in a bubble, really protect them. You have to keep them at home, not take them to supermarkets, or large communities, ”she insists. “The little ones cannot protect themselves,” slips Minister Paulette Lenert. It is up to adults to take the necessary measures. Like keeping the children at home rather than in daycare, when possible.
Drs Isabel de la Fuente and Serge Allard, President of the Luxembourg Pediatric Society, also remind you of a few basic actions to protect your children and help the health services to get their heads above water. “You have to apply hand hygiene, really ventilate and keep anyone who is sick away from infants”. For Paulette Lenert, “the population can do a lot, by adopting barrier gestures, by putting the mask back on in places that are a little busy. This can greatly slow down the circulation of the virus. We hope that everyone is united and that we can reduce this traffic in the coming weeks, to keep a reasonable balance.