Increase in Pneumonia and Acute Respiratory Infections in Armenia

Active morbidity related to acute respiratory infections continues to be recorded in the Republic. Aida Hovhannisyan, head of the Statistics and Analysis Division of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention of the Ministry of Health of Armenia, reported that since early October, over 15,000 people have sought medical assistance from primary health care due to respiratory infections, as reported by Armenpress.

According to her, currently, the circulating pathogens include the H3N2 subtype of influenza A, as well as rhinovirus and bocavirus. “Mainly, the viruses characteristic of the seasonal period compared to last year are circulating, but I would like to emphasize that at this point, the H3N2 subtype of influenza A is dominant. 80 percent of the recorded cases are among children aged 0-18. This means that this group is at risk. The highest morbidity rates have been recorded in the Armavir, Shirak, and Ararat regions, as well as in Yerevan,” said Hovhannisyan.

Referring to the symptoms, she noted that in the case of acute respiratory infections, general weakness, cold symptoms, runny nose, cough, sneezing, and elevated temperature are mainly observed. “I should mention that the risk of pneumonia in the case of influenza is quite high. Pneumonia has been recorded in 937 patients, and this number has increased compared to the previous week. Analysis shows that the disease has a severe course in vulnerable groups,” she added.

Regarding hospitalizations, Hovhannisyan mentioned that more than 1,000 people have received hospital treatment, 90 percent of whom are children. She noted that this level of morbidity is in line with the season.

Svetlana Grigoryan, head of the Epidemiology Division of the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Department of Immunoprophylaxis and Controllable Infectious Diseases, indicated that vaccination is one of the effective measures to prevent acute respiratory infections. She stated that quadrivalent vaccines have been available since September at the start of the season. Vaccination is particularly important for at-risk groups: children aged 6 months to 5 years, pregnant women, individuals with accompanying diseases, people aged 65 and older, healthcare workers, beneficiaries and staff of social care centers, as well as military personnel.

This season, 171,000 vaccine doses have been administered, compared to 134,000 in the previous season. This indicates that citizens see the effectiveness of vaccination and prefer to take preventive measures. Vaccination at least reduces the occurrence of severe cases,” Grigoryan said. She also noted that although the number of vaccinated individuals is increasing, there is some caution from parents regarding vaccinating children, even though severe disease courses are more frequently recorded in children.