Kif tipproteġi lilek innifsek fl-istaġun tal-influwenza
Flu season - Image cdc-3mZQVuxi3KA-unsplash.jpg
L-influwenza hija virus li jittieħed ħafna li jiċċirkola s-sena kollha, iżda l-attività tal-influwenza tiżdied matul il-ħarifa, bl-infezzjonijiet jilħqu l-quċċata tagħhom fix-xhur tax-xitwa. Inti u il-familja tiegħek intom ippreparata għall-istaġun tal-influwenza ta’ din is-sena? Illum se naraw x’jgħidu esperti kliniċi biex nesploraw min hu l-aktar fil-periklu ta’ mard tal-influwenza, meta għandna nitlaqqmu kull sena kontra l-influwenza, u liema għażliet mingħajr injezzjonijiet hemm għat-tfal fl-Awstralja.
Joe: L-influwenza hija virus li jittieħed ħafna li jiċċirkola s-sena kollha, iżda l-attività tal-influwenza tiżdied matul il-ħarifa bl-infezzjonijiet jilħqu l-quċċata tagħhom fix-xhur tax-xitwa. Inti u l-familja tiegħek intom ippreparati għall-istaġun tal-influwenza ta' din is-sena? Illum se naraw x'jgħidu esperti kliniċi biex naraw min huwa l-aktar fil-periklu ta' mard tal-influwenza, meta għandna nitlaqqmu kull sena kontra l-influwenza u liema għażliet mingħajr injezzjonijiet hemm għat-tfal.
Joe: L-influwenza tal-istaġun hija komuni u tittieħed. Fil-biċċa l-kbira tal-każijiet, in-nies infettati bil-virus tal-influwenza jirkupraw fi ftit jiem. Madankollu, xi nies huma f'periklu aktar ta' mard sever u li jispiċċaw l-isptar. Fl-Awstralja, is-sena l-oħra kienet l-aktar sena fatali tal-influwenza rreġistrata b'aktar minn elf u seba' mitt mewt. It-tabib Michael Wright huwa tabib ġenerali, GP, ta' Sydney u president tal-Kulleġġ Irjali Awstraljan tat-Tobba tal-Familja. Huwa jgħid li ħafna nies ma jgħarfux biżżejjed kemm tista' tkun serja l-influwenza, inklużi kumplikazzjonijiet bħal pulmunite u problemi tan-nifs.
Dr Wright: So a lot of us think it's just like a cold, but it is a serious condition which kills hundreds of Australians every year. Many thousands of Australians are admitted to hospital with influenza because it's a serious respiratory infection. Sometimes you'll recover quickly, but older Australians and particularly young children and also people with other health conditions like diabetes and asthma are more likely to get lung infections, pneumonia, and need to go to hospital.
Joe: Is-sintomi tal-influwenza huma akbar u jdumu aktar minn riħ komuni. Jistgħu jinkludu deni għoli, uġigħ fil-muskoli u fil-ġogi, uġigħ ta' ras u uġigħ fil-griżmejn. Bħal mard ieħor li jinġarr mill-arja, l-influwenza tinfirex permezz ta' qtar mill-gerżuma jew imnieħer ta' persuna infettata. Il-prattika ta' indafa tajba bħal ħasil regolari tal-idejn u li tgħatti ħalqek u imnieħrek meta tissol jew tagħtas tista' tgħin biex tnaqqas iċ-ċans li tieħu l-influwenza u tgħin biex tevita li tinfirex. Madankollu, it-tabib Wright jgħid li aktar protezzjoni effettiva għalik innifsek u għal ħaddieħor hija t-tilqima kull sena kontra l-influwenza.
Dr Wright: The advantage of getting vaccinated is that you reduce the risk of you getting sick. You actually make sure that you're much less likely to get a serious infection, but you're also less likely to spread the virus to other people. So getting vaccinated is the best thing you can do to protect yourself, your family, and also your community.
Joe: Nies li huma aktar probabbli li jimirdu serjament bl-influwenza jinkludu trabi, anzjani, nisa tqal u dawk b'kundizzjonijiet kroniċi tas-saħħa. Iżda anke nies li jkunu b'saħħithom jistgħu jiżviluppaw mard qawwi. Il-gvern Awstraljan jirrikkmanda li kulħadd minn sitt xhur 'il fuq jirċievi tilqima kontra l-influwenza kull sena. It-tilqima tista' tittieħed b'xejn għal dawk eliġibbli. It-tabib Stephanie Williams, Assistent Direttur Ġenerali fiċ-Ċentru Awstraljan għall-Kontroll tal-Mard, tagħtina aktar dettalji.
Dr Williams: We recommend everybody over the age of six months gets a flu vaccine every year. And there are some groups of people for whom that vaccine is provided free under the National Immunization Program, and they include children aged six months to five years, adults aged sixty-five and over, pregnant people, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander individuals aged six months and over, and a group of people with some specific medical conditions.
Joe: Skont fejn tgħix u taħdem, il-gvern tal-istat jew tat-territorju fejn toqgħod jew min iħaddmek jistgħu joffru wkoll tilqim kontra l-influwenza b'xejn. Hemm firxa ta' provedituri tal-kura tas-saħħa minn fejn tagħżel biex tieħu t-tilqima kontra l-influwenza.
Dr Williams: You can get a flu shot in many healthcare settings, including your local doctor, local council immunization clinic, community health centers, Aboriginal health services, and some pharmacies across Australia. And depending on state and territory arrangements, that may include in some hospitals as well.
Joe: Tfal ta' bejn sentejn u sbatax-il sena jistgħu wkoll jingħataw vaċċin kontra l-influwenza mingħajr labar. Il-vaċċin kontra l-influwenza mill-imnieħer sar disponibbli fl-Awstralja din is-sena, iżda ilu jintuża b'mod sikur għal diversi snin f'pajjiżi oħra, inkluż il-Kanada, l-Istati Uniti u madwar l-Ewropa. Huwa disponibbli privatament madwar l-Awstralja. Xi stati joffruh b'xejn lit-tfal żgħar u lit-tfal ta' qabel l-iskola. Iċċekkja jekk hemmx programm iffinanzjat mill-istat fejn tgħix. It-tabib Wright jgħid li għażla li tieħu l-vaċċin mingħajr labar hija aħbar tajba għall-familji kollha.
Dr Wright: This vaccine has been used for a number of years, particularly in the UK, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Finland, and so it's now in Australia, and so it's a nasal spray being made available in some states for free for children between the ages of two and five. And we know that kids at that age don't really like having injections, and also their parents are less likely to bring them in because no one at that age really likes a needle.
Joe: Tista' tieħu l-influwenza fi kwalunkwe żmien tas-sena, iżda l-attività tal-virus tiżdied fix-xhur tax-xitwa. Fil-biċċa l-kbira tal-Awstralja, l-infezzjonijiet tal-influwenza jilħqu l-quċċata bejn Ġunju u Settembru. Li tieħu t-tilqima tlieta jew erba' xhur qabel l-eqqel tal-istaġun jagħtik l-aktar protezzjoni, iżda qatt m'hu tard wisq biex tieħu t-tilqima kontra l-influwenza, speċjalment jekk tkun qed tippjana li tivvjaġġa. Tispjega t-tabib Meru Sheele, professur tal-mard infettiv u tas-saħħa globali fl-Università ta' Sydney.
Dr Shell: "The optimal timing of protection is about three to four months. That's why we recommend autumn to start of winter months for people to get influenza vaccines. When they come into the market around April, May, and when it's convenient or they're available through workplaces, that's the best time to get vaccinated. Particularly for people who are traveling, I think it's good to get vaccinated two to three weeks before you're traveling, because we know it takes about three weeks for your immune system to be at the peak of your response."
Joe: Il-vaċċin kontra l-influwenza jkollu kompożizzjoni differenti kull sena skont it-tip tal-virus li jiċċirkola fil-komunità dak iż-żmien. Huwa għalhekk li għandna bżonn nieħdu vaċċin kontra l-influwenza kull sena. Inqas minn persuna minn kull sitta jesperjenzaw effetti sekondarji komuni wara t-tilqima bħal deni, għeja u uġigħ fil-muskoli li jdum minn ftit sigħat sa ftit jiem. Iżda t-tabib Sheel tgħid li reazzjonijiet allerġiċi serji għall-vaċċin kontra l-influwenza huma rari.
Dr Shell: "All vaccines tend to have some common side effects like pain and swelling, redness, all of those things that you get after a needle, or it can lead to some mild fever which will often resolve by itself. Very, very rarely there are some side effects like getting a severe allergic reaction, and that's why often when you get the vaccine, the doctor or the pharmacist will ask you to wait for 15 to 20 minutes, because if there's going to be a reaction that soon after in that window that it might happen."
Joe: Hemm tipi differenti ta' vaċċini kontra l-influwenza li tista' tieħu fl-Awstralja. It-tabib tiegħek jista' jgħinek tagħżel l-aktar vaċċin adattat skont l-età u l-bżonnijiet tas-saħħa tiegħek. U fl-aħħar, kif jgħid it-tabib Wright, kellim lit-tabib tiegħek jekk għandek mistoqsijiet jew tħassib dwar kif tieħu l-vaċċin kontra l-influwenza.
Dr Wright: "Have a chat with your GP because there's a range of flu vaccines, some for people over 65, some for younger people. If you do have any concerns or worries why you might not want to have the vaccine, your GP should be able to explain if the vaccine's right for you." [mużika]
