Many mistake flu symptoms for Covid

ETHEKWINI residents are doing well to prevent the spread of Covid-19, Durban doctors say. Most of the people they consulted assumed they had the virus when, in fact, they had seasonal flu.

Dr Tygie Nadasen, of Newlands West, said: “I have seen a number of patients during the course of the month. However, none of them have tested positive for the virus. The seasonal influenza is here, so more people feel sick and are coming to me because they are afraid they could have contracted Covid.

“If their symptoms seem to be more on the flu-side, I ask them to monitor themselves and self-isolate. If they still feel ill after about three days, I then advise them to test.”

Dr Roshan Ramkisson, of Overport, said his last Covid-positive cases were three weeks ago.

“A number of patients arrive, wanting to be tested but the tests showed they were Covid-negative. I am, however, seeing a lot of people coming in with the common flu. My last positive cases were three weeks ago. It was two family members and two friends.”

He said while some provinces, like Gauteng, had entered the third wave, Durban had not reached that stage.

“For now, we are doing okay. But a lot of people held large gatherings last week, so I suspect we could see a rise in cases within the next 10 days to two weeks. We must not be complacent. We must continue to use our masks, hold gatherings in outside venues and limit the number of people we interact with.”

Dr M Moodley, of Chatsworth, said: “The second wave and the destruction it left behind hit home for a lot of people, so they are taking more precautions. Currently, there are a lot of patients arriving with flu symptoms.”

Dr Zanele Bikitsha, the chairperson of the South African Medical Association in KZN, said a third wave would be defined if the number of new cases over seven days reached 30% of the peak-moving average of the previous wave.

“Upswings would be a sustained increase of 10% over a seven-day period where the number of cases is more than 30 new cases per week per 100 000 of the population. This would apply to some sub-districts in South Africa.

“So, as a whole, South Africa is not yet in the third wave but the increase in cases, in light of the impending flu season, is of concern, especially given the mechanism of spread of Covid and the introduction of the new variant.”

She said people could not take the flu shot at the same time as the Covid vaccine.

“They must be spaced apart.” Since Sunday, the number of daily infections in the country ranged between 1700 and 2500.