​Press Bulletin No. 041, 2018

- The rainy season causes an increase in the number of ARI cases throughout the country.

Bogotá, DC, April 13, 2018. The Ministry of Health and Social Protection, the National Institute of Health (INS) and the Province Health Institute of Norte de Santander reiterated the call to the population to maintain prevention measures against acute respiratory infection (ARI) not only in this province but throughout the country, vis-à-vis the current rainy season in Colombia.

Reports of this rainy season mention an increase in ARI cases, which remain at the historical average and within the behavior expected by authorities. The existence of any kind of alert in Norte de Santander has been ruled out. Minister Alejandro Gaviria said that the behavior of both ARI and H1N1 is not related to the flow of Venezuelan migrants, but rather is linked to the current rainy season in the country. "I worry about xenophobia: H1N1 cases do not have to do with the migration crisis," he said.

The following are the official INS figures:

Acute respiratory infection (ARI)

At the national level:

• No. of ARI outpatient consultations and hospitalization in the first quarter 2017: 1,837,982.
• No. of ARI outpatient consultations and hospitalization in the first quarter 2018: 1,592,288.

In Norte de Santander:

• No. of ARI outpatient consultations and hospitalization in the first quarter 2017: 59,477.
• No. of ARI outpatient consultations and hospitalization in the first quarter 2018: 49,294.

 H1N1 virus

At the national level:

• Cases confirmed in the first quarter 2017: 64
• Cases confirmed in the first quarter 2018: 61
• Deaths in the first quarter 2017: 9
• Deaths in the first quarter 2018: 10

 In Norte de Santander:

• Cases confirmed in the first quarter 2017: 5
• Cases confirmed in the first quarter 2018: 7
• Deaths in all 2017: 3
• Deaths in the first quarter 2018: 1

In terms of prevention for the entire population, the three health authorities reiterated the importance of frequent handwashing and following these recommendations:

• Avoid handshake and/or greeting with a kiss.
• Do not rub your eyes or touch your face with unwashed hands.
• Cover your mouth with the inside of your elbow when sneezing, never with your hand.
• If you have a cold, use face masks and, if possible, stay home.
• Drink plenty of fluids, wash your nose and hands frequently.
• If possible, avoid attending crowded places.
• Keep the house ventilated, illuminated and clean, free of smoke.
• Always breast-feed children under two years of age.
• Avoid going to school or work if you are sick.

They also recommended taking children under five years of age to the doctor only if they present the following symptoms:

• Breathing faster than normal
• Fever difficult to control for more than two days
• If wheeze when breathing
• Drowsiness or difficulty waking up
• Seizures or convulsions
• Sluggish

Likewise, they advised extreme care when showing respiratory distress in obese people, people with chronic diseases such as diabetes or cancer, the elderly and/or pregnant women, or if they have a history of respiratory disease such as COPD and/or asthma.

Recommendations for health personnel

• Hand washing before and after contact with all patients or with surfaces of the patient's environment.
• Ideally use gloves for physical examination or any direct contact with patients, likely or confirmed, particularly if have had contact with patient secretions.
• Use surgical mask for contact and management of patients with any respiratory symptoms (isolation for droplet transmission).
• For personnel who perform procedures with a likelihood of inducing heavy coughing or access, which could lead to contaminated secretions, microdroplets or tiny aerosols, in a probable or confirmed case, the use of a high-efficiency N95 respirator is recommended, and contact and droplet isolation with gloves and gown.