In the event of the appearance of the new one pandemic and the health fears that have emerged in the public discourse in recent days, the professor of Hygiene and Epidemiology at the University of Thessaly and president of EODY Christos Hatzichristodoulou.
On the ERT show “Update” with Christos Pagonis, the president of EODY was hosted, who spoke about what Sotiris Tsiodras said yesterday (11.12.2024) regarding the new pandemic that could appear at any time, from a year to and 15 years. “We must always prepare for the next pandemic,” Christos Hatzichristodoulou stressed on air.
Specifically, the president of EODY said: “What Mr. Tsiodras also said is that we don’t know when it will come, when the next pandemic will come. One is the fact that every 4-5 years we have an emerging disease that is usually zoonotic and comes from animals to humans. We started from 2003 where was the SARS the first coronavirus that didn’t last long thankfully, then we had it H1N1after the flu pandemic, then we had the Zika virus.
Another fact is that the climate change it helps, this thing, when we tamper with the cycle of animals, plants, ecology in general, when we destroy it, it takes revenge on us.”
For her bird flusaid: “H5N1 is a potential danger, but we have to keep in mind that it has been in the spotlight since 1996 and has made slow strides, because it is now also transmitted to mammals and causes quite a few cases in the US. We also had a case in Canada that was not exactly linked to animals, but it was a serious case. It was in an area where it was a habitat for migratory birds and that’s probably where the connection is. We do not know when exactly this virus will evolve and be transmitted from person to person».
And he continued by saying: “The latest cases are not as serious as in the past. Always these cases we have now are the tip of the iceberg and therefore the mortality rate is overestimated. So, despite all this, we should be worried, and the World Health Organization and the European Union, we have plans for this virus.
They have made a list and are updating it, with the possibility that some pathogens that are mainly zoonoses and viral diseases can be transmitted to humans and a human-to-human transmission can occur. EODY has made a special action plan the hospitals have already been informed, the Regional Health Directorates have already been informed, they have done an exercise for this. So we must be vigilant.
Especially for Congo to say that it was a case of deaths and cases in a remote area and at first the international community was concerned. We saw that they were mostly malnourished children, no new virus or pathogen was isolated at this time. They appear to be commonly circulating pathogens, but in an area where there was a public health deficit. Poor area. Vulnerable population. There is an echelon where it is monitored. For now we are on alert, but we are not worried».
Mr. Hatzichristodoulou referring to nosocomial infectionsstressed that: “It is a perennial problem for Greece. Since 2011 I have seen all the reports of the ECDC that comes here and visits us specifically for this issue. The reports are the same. We do have a problem. We are among the first countries in Europe in both resistance and nosocomial infections. There is an optimistic note with two programs currently running in Greece.
EODY started a big program that is funded – already we have hired 90 people and they will go to 55 hospitals. We have misuse of antibiotics both by the population and by doctors. We have overprescribing from the doctors and we have substandard prescription. You know, there is a criterion in the EU that was set in all countries – To reach 65% all countries – the WHO says 70% – to use antibiotics that are more correct, more resistance-friendly that do not favor resistance.
We are at 40% – we are far below all European countries. We have seen with analysis that we have done that certain specialties prescribe worse than others. And quantitatively much more antibiotics and qualitatively wrong.
Pathologists, general practitioners, paediatricians and pulmonologists, they prescribe too much and not correctly. In regions we have seen differences and age differences. over 50 to overprescribe too and not correctly. We have already made a targeted intervention and we will intervene on a personal level with the help of the Ministry of Health and IDIKA, we will also intervene on a personal level.
Plus training program, this is the one. Second, new treatments and improvement of hospital conditions, we will make new therapeutic protocols to strengthen good practices and hand hygiene.. We hope to achieve the goal to reduce at least 30% from 12% in three years”.