Sales of flu remedies soar as Spain is hit by a major second wave of viruses

IF YOU’VE FEELING BAD these past few days, you’re not the only one. Spain is currently suffering from one of the longest and most widespread flu epidemics in living memory. Also, this is the second wave of the season.

The first wave came in October, some three months earlier, according to the Spanish newspaper El Confidencial. It intensified in November before falling and was blamed on the Influenza A virus. But now an even stronger second wave of Influenza B has arrived.

According to the Carlos III Health Institute in Madrid, in mid-February there were some 788 cases per 100,000 inhabitants nationwide. In some areas, such as the North African city of Melilla, the number reached 2,000.

As predicted by health experts, precautions taken during the Covid-19 pandemic, such as wearing masks, hand sanitizing, and social distancing, have likely left the population with low defenses against viruses like the flu.

Another explanation for the current situation is that there are many different viruses circulating at the moment, and people may be infected with more than one.

“In a PCR test we can see three different viruses from the same sample and we don’t know which one causes the symptoms,” virology expert Iván Sanz Muñoz explained to El Confidencial.

What is certain is that the sale in Spanish pharmacies of medicines to treat flu symptoms has skyrocketed. Data cited by the newspaper El País from the Health Market Research consultancy show that in the eighth week of this year, pharmacies sold 23 million euros in this type of medicine, practically double that on the same date last year.

Meanwhile, coronavirus cases are not rising. According to the latest data from the central Ministry of Health, there are only 84 patients in intensive care in Spain with Covid-19, the lowest number since the pandemic hit the country in March 2020.

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