According to the death and cause of death statistics announced by the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK); The number of people who died due to infections and parasite-related diseases in 2023 reached the highest level in the last 5 years. In 2018, 10 thousand 854 people died due to infections and parasite-related diseases. In 2023, a total of 19 thousand 591 people lost their lives, including 9 thousand 999 men and 9 thousand 592 women. President of the Infectious Diseases Association, Prof. Dr. Mehmet Ceyhan made an evaluation regarding the data in question. Prof. Dr. Ceyhan said, “Deaths mostly involve viral and bacterial infections. Therefore, we see a little more increase here every year. Currently, there is an increase in all respiratory infections that can cause death in Turkey. This is the death increase rate not only in Turkey but in all countries in the world.” “in a way,” he said.
‘WHEN THE PRECAUTIONS WERE REMOVED, DISEASES SPREAD FAST’
Emphasizing that this is actually an expected situation, Prof. Dr. Ceyhan said, “Because during the pandemic period, we took protective measures by cutting off respiratory diseases through isolation and closing schools and workplaces. These protective measures reduced the frequency of other diseases very seriously. Now, there are two reasons for this increase; the first reason is that we isolated people for 3 years.” By doing this, we prevented the spread of respiratory infections among people. Therefore, people did not suffer from these diseases, and their immune systems adapted accordingly. Then, when we suddenly lifted all the precautions, these diseases started to spread rapidly. The second reason was that a significant portion of them were diseases that could be prevented by vaccination. As a result of the misinformation spread by anti-government groups in an extremely relaxed environment and the lack of intervention, people started to get less vaccinations. The number of people getting flu vaccines decreased, and the number of people getting measles, meningitis and tuberculosis vaccines decreased; all of these lead to very serious deaths. “These diseases that can cause diseases are becoming more common,” he said.
‘VACCINATION RATES NEED TO INCREASE’
Prof. Dr. Ceyhan emphasized that there are deaths due to not being vaccinated against respiratory infections and said, “Covid is not over in the world, it is seen in a certain number in every country and continues as new variants emerge. On the other hand, the number of flu this year is much higher than the last 3 years. The number of measles and meningitis “There are deaths due to infectious diseases due to not being vaccinated. We constantly talk about the precautions the state will take. Vaccination rates should be increased, false information about the vaccine should not be spread so easily,” he said.
‘WE WILL EXPERIENCE NEW PANDEMICES’
Prof. also talked about the measures that can be taken to prevent the spread of respiratory infections. Dr. Ceyhan said, “In order to prevent the spread of such diseases, especially Covid, it is necessary to inquire about complaints and take a sample from those who have complaints, as in the time of the pandemic. We need to carry out active surveillance and make a diagnosis about the frequency of diseases in the society. We currently have There is no active surveillance. If you go and scan yourself and try to find out the frequency of the disease, it is active surveillance. But if the number of diseases is reported only by the doctors who see you, this is a very passive surveillance. These diseases have not disappeared. As the number of people coming from abroad for holidays and tourism increases, these types of diseases enter Turkey from abroad. Therefore, my advice to risk groups is to always have a disinfectant in their bag when they enter crowded places. We have acquired this habit. Epidemics are now like earthquakes; This is not the last epidemic. We will experience new pandemics, but like the earthquake, we do not know when. Therefore, people should organize their lives accordingly. We need to be prepared as if the epidemic could break out at any moment. Close contact should be avoided. Since it is in our culture, we always greet each other by hugging each other, but this is dangerous. “We now need to learn to greet each other without touching,” he said. (DHA)
