An infectious disease expert has weighed in on whether the spate of colds, flu, Covid and other respiratory illnesses suffered by Australians in recent weeks are out of the ordinary – and also offered some good news for men accused of seeking sympathy with “man flu”.
While some experts have said a “super cold” is making Australians sicker than usual this season, others say it is too early to judge this winter compared to previous years and that fears over the latest Covid variant may just be “a beating”.
“We’re in winter and there are lots of different viruses circulating… and the problem is that some people can get very ill with the common cold,” Professor Peter Collignon, an infectious disease physician and microbiologist at the Australian National University, told Daily Mail Australia.
But Professor Collignon said it was too early to speculate on the overall outlook for Australia’s 2024 winter season, which the rest of the world sees as an indicator of what their winters may hold later in the year.
“So far we’re not seeing a huge excess of deaths compared to a normal winter,” he said.
“There are more deaths every winter, especially among people over 80, but so far it doesn’t seem like the situation has gotten any worse (this year, so far).”
However, Professor Collignon offered some support to men who complain excessively about how sick they are this cold season while suffering from the so-called “man flu”.
“Men’s immune systems are not as good (as women’s), so they may have symptoms for longer from a biological standpoint,” she said.
If you’ve caught a cold, flu, Covid or other respiratory illness in the past few weeks, you’re not alone. Pictured is a woman wrapped in a blanket
‘There is at least some limited data to suggest that men[with colds]start out the same as women, but their symptoms may persist for a little longer, probably because their immune systems are not as good as women’s at the same age.’
The professor, who has been one of Australia’s most trusted voices during the pandemic, said part of the perception of more illness was due to people being more health conscious after years of Covid.
There are also many more tests now being carried out for various respiratory diseases than in the past.
“We are doing more tests now because there are what they call multiplex PCR tests available. We are detecting viruses that were already around more than 10 years ago (but) we weren’t detecting them.”
He said the objective way to measure the numbers of severe respiratory illnesses is to count how many people are in hospital now in different age groups, compared with other years, and how many additional deaths there are.
‘The worst winter we had was 2020 because it was the first year of Covid… I think this year, judging by deaths and hospital admissions, will probably be an average year.
Professor Collignon said people should take whatever vaccines are available.
‘If you are in a risk group, and particularly if you are older, get vaccinated against influenza, pneumonia and meningococcus, as these are available to people over 65 years of age.
‘And also Covid, if you need a booster dose and you are in those groups that recommend (receiving the vaccines), which are older people.’
He also has good advice for younger people who contract the virus.
‘If you are sick, stay away from others, even try to stay away from your family as much as possible… and work from home (if you can) until you are reasonably better and therefore much less infectious.’
Male flu is real. “Men’s immune systems are not as good, so they may have symptoms for longer from a biological point of view,” said Professor Peter Collignon (file image)
The professor said the latest Covid variant, known as FLuQE, is not as scary or dangerous as has sometimes been reported.
“Every time a new variant appears, the same story is repeated: ‘the end of the world is coming’, and they are always wrong,” he said.
“The reality is that it’s just another Omicron variant that’s been circulating, people already have immunity. Will some people die from it? Yes, they will. Mainly the people who are most at risk, but also some others.”
Professor Collignon said there is a very simple way to assess how bad or bad a Covid variant is.
“If you look at the waves that are happening in terms of deaths, (FLuQE) is much less of a wave. This is going to continue forever and every year, probably twice a year, we’re going to have a new variant.
‘Unless you can show that people are dying at a higher rate or that prior immunization or immunity does not protect you,Well, I think this is all just a beating from people who probably want research grants.
He does not oppose the study of the latest variants, but warns that ““You have to be careful not to dissect a little self-interest into some of this over-promotion.”
‘The viruses that seem to put more people in hospital during the winter are RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) for the very young and the very old, and influenza, mainly for the very old, and then Covid.
“These three viruses circulate every winter and cause many people to become ill,” he explained.
Professor Collignon said people’s experience of pandemic years and memories of previous illnesses can affect how sick they think they are if they catch a cold or flu.
‘COVID-19 has raised our awareness and everyone still thinks that if they get COVID-19 it could be very serious. That’s why they are more aware of its symptoms.
Professor Peter Collignon (pictured) said there is one very simple way to see how bad or not a Covid variant is: statistics on hospitalisations and deaths.
‘And it’s hard to know (if a cold or flu is worse than before) because you always forget what happened to you a year or two years ago as an individual.
“So there’s always the perception that it’s (worse, because) it’s affecting them now.”
He said the only way to know for sure whether this winter season is worse for disease than previous years “is to look at more objective measures like deaths or hospital admissions and see how different they are.”
“Because they are the tip of the iceberg. So if there are more of them, there are many more diseases beneath them as well.”