Crowds push flu into summer: emergency rooms fill up in Pontevedra, Spain

Summer flu and colds: emergency rooms fill up as crowds gather

Who said flu was a winter thing? In Pontevedra, Spain, pulmonologist Adolfo Baloira warns that festival crowds and tourism have brought respiratory bicho forward into the summer, and the emergency department of CHUP (the Pontevedra university hospital complex) is already admitting patients for infections in the middle of the season. "It's starting to become something of a problem," the specialist admits.

Crowding is the prime suspect. The doctor explains that the influx of people brought by tourism and the masses at music events have changed the course of illnesses such as influenza A, which is no longer seasonal. Cases of flu and colds are multiplying, and while some point to vaccination as the solution, others wonder whether air conditioning might be the real culprit.

The shadow of ELbichito still looms. Several families describe bad bouts of flu with high fever and even some hospital admissions, fueling the debate over whether booster shots are necessary or whether the pharmaceutical industry is rubbing its hands in glee. The data point: the rise in cases coincides with the peak of summer festivals, while doctors insist that crowds are a breeding ground for any bicho.

Some blame climate change, but the human factor seems decisive. Crowded transport and events are the perfect habitat for transmission. Just look at the contrast: a 90-year-old hermit up in his hills barely catches a sniffle, while festival regulars drop like flies. Ironic as it may sound, the lesson is simple: where there's a crowd, there's a bicho.

The question is whether this will get worse. With summer still in full swing, emergency rooms are getting no respite. And as the saying goes, better safe than sorry — but in the middle of a heatwave, who's thinking about the flu?