A study by Clalit and Soroka Hospital found a 100% increase in the incidence of non-coronary infectious diseases in toddlers aged 3-0 in 2021 in the months following the third closure (April to June), compared to the same period in 2017. It was also found that diseases typical of winter appeared in spring .
The researchers speculate that social isolation, dropping out of kindergarten and lack of exposure to infections have led to increased susceptibility among children.
Another hypothesis is that there has been a change in the children's immune system, but further research is needed to examine this.
Researchers from Clalit Southern District and Soroka analyzed data concerning about 390,000 patients and more than 1.2 million visits to community clinics.
The study found an increase in respiratory morbidity and gastrointestinal infections among children aged 3-0, and an increase in respiratory infections among all age groups during the 3 months after removal of the congestion restriction.
These are diseases like flu, RSV (bronchiolitis) and infectious bowel diseases.
Soroka Hospital, Photo: Danny Maron
The observed rate of upper respiratory tract diseases after the third closure in toddlers aged 0-3 was 1,660 cases per 100,000, 2.4 times the expected rate based on previous years which stood at 687 cases per 100,000.
The rate of infants with intestinal diseases in 2021 was 879 per 100,000 - 2.7 times the expected rate of 323.
It was also found that in 2021 after the closure there was a 99% increase among 0 to 3 year olds in the diagnosis of infections.
There was an increase in other age groups, but to a lesser extent: 19% among those aged 4 to 11, and 4.9% among those aged 12 to 19. Among those aged 80-35, there was an increase of about 9%.
The study authors note that a possible explanation for the outbreak of infectious disease in toddlers may be related to the fact that during the period of closure and closure of treatment settings they were less exposed to viruses.
"They had no immunological memory. It's like a child entering kindergarten in the first year gets infected a lot, and then develops immunity. Once they removed the closure there was a 'boom' of respiratory diseases," explains Prof. Yonath Shemer Avni, director of the Virology Laboratory at Soroka.
Road closed to traffic during one of the Corona closures,
Another possible theory is that when there is a dominant virus like the corona, which triggers the immune system, other viruses become non-dominant.
"One virus triggers the immune system, and then other viruses do not become infected," says Prof. Shemer Avni.
"After the vaccinations, restrictions on the use of masks and the use of masks were removed. As a result, there was an increase in respiratory morbidity of the general population that is not typical of the season. "In the spring, which predicted what happened next in the rest of the world. In our lab in terms of the viruses we see now, it's similar to the summer season. The flu is over, and the RSV is almost over too. There is a change in the seasonal appearance of the viruses."
Dr. Amar David Shimon, a family medicine specialist and director of the Bnei Dekalim Clinic, Clalit Southern District:
Following the closures, infectious morbidity rates in the community changed.
Infectious diseases, such as pneumonia, which break out mainly in winter, have appeared in summer or spring and in significantly higher numbers than in previous years.
"While we have experienced some relief from coronary heart disease, other viral diseases have erupted more and more."
He added: "Research has clear significance for decision-makers in the health system: it is important to prepare for the changing reality. About 90% of medicine in Israel is provided in community clinics, and therefore proper preparation will help prevent and deal with further epidemic outbreaks." We are all in the fields of health, education, security and the economy. "
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