Record number of people infected by norovirus and rotavirus in 2006
Further increase expected this year
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A record number of Finns were infected by the norovirus and rotavirus in 2006. Last year was an average years for type-A influenza, but twice as many people have already been infected by it so far this year than all of last year.
About 2,200 people in Finland were infected by the rotavirus, setting a new record. The Norovirus has set a new record this year, with nearly 1,800 cases.
The figures are from a register of infectious diseases kept by the National Public Health Institute, which records all patients who undergo laboratory examinations to diagnose the diseases.
Only a small fraction of those who are infected are recorded in the Public Health Institute's register. However, the figures are an indication of how widespread the viruses are.
"The Rotavirus attacks small children. Suffering an infection gives a person good resistance, which is why adults do not dome down with the disease to the same degree", says Peter Klemets, a specialist in infectious diseases at the National Public Health Institute.
The surge in the norovirus is attributed to a new variant, for which the population has not built up a resistance.
"for this reason the disease has gone through the population much more extensively, especially in hospitals and homes for the elderly", Klemets says.
The disease is not expected to ease much in the coming weeks.
Hannele Kotilainen, a doctor of infectious diseases at the City of Helsinki, says that the norovirus was widespread in other European countries in 2005, and spread to Finland from there.
"According to European assessments, 2007 will be a year of repeated outbreaks of the norovirus", Kotilainen says.
Norovirus outbreaks are difficult to control, because it is suffered both by hospital patients, and those on the outside. "When a hospital copes with one epidemic by isolating the patients, another patient will soon come and infect a new set of patients. It is a constant spiral", Kotilainen explains.
The surge in A-virus infections early in the year can be explained by the late start of the epidemic.
"The type-A flu usually comes in November and December, and now it started in early January. For that reason, its peak was in the early months of the year", Kotilainen says.
The disease is most common among children and young people. "Schools and day care centres are susceptible to the spread of the virus. Vaccinations are free for those over the age of 65, so they do not catch the disease very often", Klemets says.
No single cause has been found for the increase in rotavirus, norovirus, and type-A flu cases in Finland.
Factors affecting the spread of infectious diseases include population growth, and denser housing patterns, as well as large living units in hospitals and similar institutions.
Kotilainen notes that some have pondered the possibility that climate change might have something to do with the fact that animals are increasingly coming down with the norovirus. "However, there has been no confirmation that the disease would spread from animals to people", Kotilainen adds.
Helsingin Sanomat
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| 17.4.2007 - TODAY |
 Record number of people infected by norovirus and rotavirus in 2006 |
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