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Influenza season Virologist recommends flu vaccinations in refugee shelters
Tens of thousands of refugees have arrived in Germany in the past few days. After most of the weeks or months of hard work many of them are weakened. Therefore, an expert now recommends flu vaccinations in first-time accommodation in order to forestall a disease wave.
Prevent influenza wave
Although the influenza season has not yet begun, but for days, many are considering whether this year again to the flu vaccine. Some people, such as seniors or people with weakened immune systems will be advised. Many people who have arrived in Germany in the past few days, often after weeks or months of fleeing, have been weakened due to the strain. Infectious diseases therefore often have a more severe course in them. An expert advises now to appropriate vaccinations to prevent a wave of influenza in first refugee accommodation for winter refugees.
Flu vaccinations for refugees? Image: kamasigns - fotolia Weakened people are hit harder
"Influenza vaccinations are important in all communal accommodation and are also offered there in a targeted manner. This is what the health authorities are doing ", explained Ulrike Protzer, the director of the Institute of Virology at the Technical University of Munich, to the German Press Agency. She explained that you have to distinguish between a cold and a real flu. For the latter, it is still relatively early, the flu season usually begins in December and then lasts until March or April. Although the risk of infection is not higher for people in a weakened situation, they are hit harder by every infectious disease. "If weakened people catch an infection, the risk is greater, more difficult to get sick - such as pneumonia," says the expert.
Health checks in refugee camps
As Protzer explained, health checks are being carried out in the refugee shelters, which will also determine, among other things, whether other inoculations are necessary. "Some refugees also arrive here sick, they may have been walking for 20 or 30 days and have slept in the open air. For the medical service is there and can supply them, for example, if necessary, with antibiotics, "said Protzer to the dpa. However, asylum seekers are only entitled to minimum health care. They are second-class patients, as charities and refugee organizations have been criticizing for years. Especially against the background that more than a third of the refugee children are mentally stressed, more help would be needed in this area as well.
"A moral obligation"
According to Protzer, there is no lack of flu vaccine doses. "It is true that in Germany we have about one or two refugees per 1,000 inhabitants," explained the virologist. Other countries, such as Lebanon with around 1.5 million refugees, are in a very different situation. There, the medical care is often very bad and the risk of illness greater. "We need to think much more about how we can help people there. That is a moral obligation, "says Protzer. (Ad)