Top health experts have shed light on why so many Brits are feeling under the weather this summer as a host of viruses, including new Covid variants, summer colds and flu, sweep across the UK. The number of people hospitalised with Covid has doubled since April, now standing at around 3,000 in England alone. The latest stats from the UK Health Security Agency reveal a 4.5% increase in Covid cases in England, a 20/9% rise in Covid deaths and a 2.2% uptick in patients hospitalised with Covid.
Professor Peter Openshaw, from Imperial College London, told the BBC: "There is a very significant rise." In addition to Covid, Prof Jonathan Ball, from Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, suggests that the lockdowns during the pandemic may have disrupted the usual pattern of illness - with people typically catching colds and flu in winter and feeling healthy in summer.
As people were in lockdown, they didn't contract the usual viruses, leading to a surge in new cases when restrictions were lifted during the warmer months. This pattern could still be ongoing, reports Devon Live. Speaking to the BBC, Prof Ball said: "It seemed to throw seasonality, particularly cold viruses, out of kilter so they were cropping up at weird times and I don't think things have settled down at the minute,".
The current surge in Whooping Cough cases may be linked to lockdown measures. Typically, an outbreak occurs every five years, but the last one should have happened during lockdown and didn't. Now, it seems to be back with a vengeance, causing many to suffer from the '100 day cough'.
By the end of May, there had already been 7,599 cases of whooping cough reported in England, resulting in the death of eight children.
Professor Sheena Cruickshank from the University of Manchester suggests that Long Covid could also be contributing to the rise. It's estimated that 2 million people are experiencing the long-term effects of having previously had Covid, which includes a weakened immune system.
Hay fever might also be playing a part as the Met Office warns that due to climate change, the high-pollen season could be longer and more intense. However, Professor Ball suggests that rather than there being more illnesses now, we might just be more aware of feeling ill due to our experience with Covid over the past few years.
He said: "People are just a little bit more aware of sniffles and things that, maybe pre-Covid, they just got on with life."
