ABSTRACT
Influenza A outbreaks occurred in two professional hockey teams just after two games they played against each other. Thirteen players and two staff members fell ill during 17-20 April 2022, while COVID-19 was prevalent. Altogether, seven players missed an important game due to influenza. The rapid diagnosis permitted effective pharmaceutical and nonpharmaceutical control of the outbreaks.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Epidemics , Hockey , Influenza, Human , Humans , COVID-19/epidemiology , Influenza, Human/epidemiology , Influenza, Human/prevention & control , Disease Outbreaks/prevention & controlABSTRACT
We performed prospective studies on respiratory viral infections among Team Finland participants during the 2021 Oberstdorf World Ski Championships and the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games. We enrolled 73 athletes and 110 staff members. Compared with similar studies we conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, illnesses and virus detections dropped by 10-fold.
Subject(s)
COVID-19 , Viruses , Athletes , COVID-19/epidemiology , Humans , Pandemics , Prospective StudiesABSTRACT
Upper respiratory tract infections ("common cold") are the most common acute illnesses in elite athletes. Numerous studies on exercise immunology have proposed that intense exercise may increase susceptibility to respiratory infections. Virological data to support that view are sparse, and several fundamental questions remain. Immunity to respiratory viral infections is highly complex, and there is a lack of evidence that minor short- or long-term alterations in immunity in elite athletes have clinical implications. The degree to which athletes are infected by respiratory viruses is unclear. During major sport events, athletes are at an increased risk of symptomatic infections caused by the same viruses as those in the general population. The symptoms are usually mild and self-limiting. It is anecdotally known that athletes commonly exercise and compete while having a respiratory viral infection; there are no virological studies to suggest that such activity would affect either the illness or the performance. The risk of myocarditis exists. Which simple mitigation procedures are crucial for effective control of seasonal respiratory viral infections is not known.