Almost a quarter of the Maltese population is expected to contract influenza this year which is an “exaggeratedly high number” when compared to previous years, Health Minister Chris Fearne said in parliament on Monday.
He said the flu is already negatively affecting blood donations, which has forced the cancellation of some operations.
Replying to a question in parliament by Opposition MP Herman Schiavone on hospital overcrowding, Mr Fearne said the influenza spike was also being expected in other countries.
He noted that this year, type B influenza was first to strike and not type A contrary to the norm
“This year it is expected to affect almost a quarter of the population, which is exaggeratedly high,” he said.
The minister said that the spike affected the blood reserve. “The average of 60 donors per day has fallen to about 30 and this is why some operations had to be cancelled,” Mr Fearne told parliament.
Regarding the impact on Mater Dei Hospital, he acknowledged that there had been instances where patients had to be treated in corridors due to overcrowding.
“The average waiting time for a bed in a ward is at present 18 hours, which is not the desired waiting time of no longer than six hours,” he said. He said there was a patient who spent 26 hours in a corridor.
Tap water study
Replying to a supplementary question from independent MP Marlene Farrugia, Mr Fearne said he had instructed the Superintendent for Public Health to look into a study which linked Malta’s tap water to almost a fifth of all bladder cancer cases.
Published in US journal, Environmental Health Perspectives, the large-scale study was led by led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health. It concluded that the situation in Malta was among the worst in Europe, with both the amount of chemicals in the water and the associated bladder cancer risks being the second-highest compared to those in other EU states.
However, the deputy prime minister said that from preliminary indications there did not seem to be reason for alarm.
Energy Minister Michael Farrugia interjected saying that water quality was in line with EU directives, and the chemical in question was less than half of the limit.
He added that the Water Services Corporation was investing €131 million to improve water quality.