The NHS should expect an increase in serious non-COVID respiratory infections in the coming winter as the UK approaches the season with reduced infection control, experts have warned.
A new study has found that rates of non-COVID respiratory infection remained high during the pandemic.
Researchers at Bristol University, UK, found that the majority of lower respiratory tract infection hospitalisations did not involve COVID during the year from August 2020 to November 2021.
Their research, published in The Lancet Regional Health, involved two major hospitals in Bristol and found that just under a tenth of 135,000 hospital admissions during the period involved lower respiratory tract infections. 55% of these patients had no evidence of COVID infection – and COVID was only confirmed in 26% of these cases.
Researcher Professor Adam Finn, director of Bristol Medical School’s vaccine centre, said: “What is really surprising from our results is just how much other non-COVID respiratory infections there was during this time, other infections clearly didn’t just disappear and despite significant public health measures, including both vaccination and non-pharmaceutical intervention such as masks, our findings show there was still a high incidence of non-COVID-19 disease causing hospitalisations alongside COVID-19 patients.”
Fellow researcher Dr Catherine Hyams said: “Our results really highlight not only the huge burden of respiratory infection on the NHS and other healthcare systems, but also how bad things may get this winter.
“It is therefore essential that appropriate healthcare planning and resource allocation is undertaken to care for patients with respiratory conditions, in addition to implementation of public health measures to reduce respiratory disease burden and improve patient outcomes.”
A Finn et al. Incidence of community acquired lower respiratory tract disease in Bristol, UK during the COVID-19 pandemic: a prospective cohort study. Lancet Regional Health 9 August 2022
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