A top Greater Manchester GP has said there are ‘questions over whether a new antigen’ is the cause of a huge uptick in a horrible virus leaving many ‘wiped out’.
Greater Manchester GP Dr Helen Wall told the Manchester Evening News a number of viruses have skyrocketed this winter season. It comes as the number of people sick in hospital with flu is still spiralling in England, prompting fears for the state of packed hospitals.
The NHS has been battling a ‘tidal wave’ of flu, Covid-19, RSV and norovirus piling pressure on hospitals across the country – dubbed a ‘quad-demic’. And norovirus in particular might have taken on new, more severe properties.
“The quad-demic was a potential issue because of what we’d seen in the early peak of flu,” explained the Bolton-based GP. “We’ve had an 80% rise in norovirus, and there’s questions over whether that’s because of a new antigen that’s perhaps more easily spread, and leads to more severe disease.”
This winter, norovirus is ‘wiping people out’ for longer than they might expect, says the GP. Dr Wall continued: “Anecdotally, norovirus seems to be wiping people out quite significantly. People might expect some vomiting and diarrhoea, and a bug that lasts 24 hours. But what we’re seeing is whole families being wiped out for a good week with dehydration – and some needing hospital for dehydration.
“Covid, we think, is at its lowest since the beginning of the pandemic. We had the lowest Covid vaccine uptake since the start of the pandemic too, but 90 per cent of the population have either had Covid several times, or had more than one vaccine. So we’ve got a background immunity that we didn’t have five years ago, even with lower uptake.
“While flu is definitely higher than it was last year. The concern is that it’s rising and we don’t know where it’s going to stop.”
The GP said that people suffering from these illness can get frustrated as not all medication works
(Image: Dr Helen Wall)
Likewise, changes to the flu virus could be behind the massive increase in cases this year. There were an average of 5,408 flu patients in the nation’s hospitals in the week ending January 5. That’s up from an average of 4,469 a week earlier.
“Flu is changing constantly, it evolves so frequently. Every year we try to match the strains, but we don’t always get it right or get every single strain,” said the doctor.
“There’s potential for you to get flu and be really quite unwell.”
“Flu can come on quite strongly. You’ll be fine one minute and then start feeling feverish even though you’re really warm.
“Then you might start with a cough, runny nose, feeling congested, tired and achey. People say they’ve had flu but have managed to carry on working or go shopping.
“With real flu, you’re going to end up in bed. You’re not going to be up and about, you’re going to be so tired it’ll be a struggle to get out of bed.
“With Covid, the loss of taste and smell that were big symptoms at the start of the pandemic are becoming more of a feature again. Because many people have had Covid several times, most people with Covid are experiencing it as they’re getting on with life but just have a bit of a cough – they might not even realise. Flu tends to completely wipe you out.”
Norovirus is ‘wiping people out’
(Image: Getty Images)
But the GP said that people suffering from these illness can get frustrated as not all medication works to cure them.
“We’re seeing a lot of diarrhoea and vomiting, a lot of coughs and colds. And for many illnesses, we’re seeing that a lot of people are really struggling to shake them off, they’ll report feeling unwell for three to four weeks, all over the Christmas period,” said Dr Wall.
“Most of it is viral and people hate hearing that because they want antibiotics to get better soon. Viruses spread really easily and thrive in the cold weather. Our nasal hairs that normally protect us from taking in viruses get damaged in cold weather.
“But for viruses, it’s all about rest and rehydration. You cannot underestimate the power of being well hydrated when you’ve got a virus.
“It’s not like an infection which attacks one specific body part. Viruses take over your whole body, which is why you have aches and pains, shivers, feel feverish, and will feel generally miserable.
“Simple painkillers are really useful to deal with fever. Plenty of rest will also help you to fight it off.
“The red flags I look for are if you’re not able to breathe properly, or being so dehydrated that you’re not able to pass urine, becoming very confused, collapsing. These are the reasons people are going into hospitals.
“A&Es are busy, but people aren’t being admitted for no reason. These people will be needing oxygen tanks and drips, they’re really ill and need to be there.