Autumn and winter are the high incidence seasons of respiratory infectious diseases. The immune function of the elderly decreases, often accompanied by a variety of basic diseases, and the risk of infectious diseases increases significantly. Once infected, it may lead to the aggravation of the original chronic diseases, increased complications, and easy to develop into acute and severe diseases. Therefore, elderly people should reduce the risk of respiratory diseases and take preventive measures. How can the elderly scientifically prevent respiratory infectious diseases in autumn and winter? Let's hear what the experts have to say. The generally susceptible influenza virus "The influenza virus is most familiar to the public, and it causes what is often called influenza." Li Yanming, director of the Department of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine of Beijing Hospital, said that unlike the common cold, influenza is an acute respiratory infection caused by the influenza virus, which starts quickly, often manifested as sudden high fever, accompanied by chills and chills. The patient has obvious systemic symptoms, often feeling body aches, fatigue, headaches, and muscle and joint pain; There are often respiratory symptoms, which may include coughing, sore throat, nasal congestion, runny nose, etc. Some patients also have gastrointestinal symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. The general population is susceptible to influenza virus, and high-risk groups such as the elderly, chronic disease patients, infants, and pregnant women are more severely affected by influenza infection. Based on the national influenza surveillance and mortality monitoring data, a research model shows that there are an average of 88000 cases of influenza related respiratory system diseases causing excess deaths annually in China. Among them, 80% of the excess deaths related to influenza in the population are among the elderly aged 60 and above. Compared with influenza, respiratory syncytial virus infection, which has stronger infectivity, is not widely recognized as a legally reported infectious disease in China. But in fact, this virus is an important pathogen for acute respiratory infections in infants, young children, and the elderly, and its infectivity is no less than that of influenza, "said Li Yanming. The basic infectivity R0 value represents the average number of people an infected person can transmit to other susceptible individuals in the early stages of the epidemic without external intervention, and its value represents the strength of the pathogen's infectivity. By using the R0 value, the infectivity of the pathogen can be preliminarily determined: the larger the R0 value, the stronger the infectivity; The smaller the R0 value, the more favorable it is for the elimination and control of diseases. The R0 values of common respiratory infections were: COVID-19 prototype strain (2-3), respiratory syncytial virus (1.3~2.6), influenza virus (1.3~1.8). From the above R0 values, it can be seen that the infectivity of respiratory syncytial virus is to some extent stronger than that of influenza. Not only that, patients infected with respiratory syncytial virus are contagious 1-2 days before clinical symptoms appear, and infectivity usually lasts for 3-8 days. For infants, young children, and elderly people with low immune function, even if clinical symptoms disappear, the infectious period can last up to 4 weeks, "Li Yanming emphasized. Infection with respiratory syncytial virus usually causes cold like symptoms, and most patients can recover on their own. However, infection in the elderly and those with chronic underlying diseases may lead to serious adverse clinical outcomes. According to relevant data, approximately 336000 elderly people aged 65 and above are hospitalized each year due to respiratory syncytial virus infection worldwide, of which approximately 14000 hospitalized cases result in death. Moreover, the disease burden of respiratory syncytial virus infection may be heavier than that of influenza. Research has shown that compared to influenza virus infection, respiratory syncytial virus infection is associated with increased risks of pneumonia, exacerbation of underlying diseases, and patients with respiratory syncytial virus infection exhibit higher hospitalization rates, ICU admission rates, and incidence of complications than influenza patients. Pneumococcus and Mycoplasma Pneumococcus are common pathogens that cause respiratory infectious diseases. According to the big data of respiratory infection monitoring in China from 2009 to 2019, among the bacteria that cause acute respiratory infections, the leading pathogen causing pneumonia and non pneumonia diseases is pneumococcus. Pneumococcal infection can cause respiratory infections such as pneumonia and bronchitis. Bacteria may also invade the ear, urinary system, central nervous system, causing otitis media, cystitis, meningitis, etc., and even multiply and release toxins in the blood, forming bacteremia and leading to adverse clinical outcomes. The infection rate of Mycoplasma in the elderly population is relatively low, but it cannot be ignored. Taking Mycoplasma pneumoniae as an example, its infection can cause upper respiratory tract infections, as well as lower respiratory tract infections such as pneumonia, and can also cause extrapulmonary complications such as autoimmune hemolytic anemia. The onset of this disease is diverse, with most patients mainly suffering from low-grade fever and fatigue. Some patients may experience sudden high fever accompanied by obvious systemic toxic symptoms such as headache, muscle pain, and nausea. The respiratory symptoms are most prominent with dry cough, which often lasts for more than 4 weeks. Li Yanming believes that the high incidence of mycoplasma pneumonia in autumn and winter in China may be closely related to the increase of indoor activities, poor air circulation and personnel contact in autumn and winter. There are two main modes of transmission of pathogens of respiratory infectious diseases: one is through the droplets released by the infected person when coughing or sneezing, and the other is contact transmission, that is, direct transmission caused by close contact with the infected person, or indirect contact transmission caused by touching the mouth, eyes, nose, etc. after touching the surface of objects contaminated by viruses. Li Yanming suggests that elderly people can take some public preventive measures, such as wearing masks, washing hands frequently, ventilating regularly, gathering less, maintaining environmental hygiene, following social distancing and cough etiquette, etc. Vaccination is also one of the effective ways to prevent respiratory infectious diseases, helping the human body to improve immunity to specific pathogens. Feng Luzhao, Vice Dean of the School of Group Medicine and Public Health at Peking Union Medical College, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, stated that currently available vaccines for elderly people include influenza vaccines, pneumococcal vaccines, etc. Respiratory syncytial virus vaccines have not yet been approved for market in China. "Generally speaking, it is most appropriate to vaccinate one to two months before the arrival of the season of high incidence of respiratory infectious diseases. In China, it is generally recommended to vaccinate influenza vaccine from September to November, and it is best to complete influenza vaccination before the end of October. Even if the best vaccination time is missed, it is still recommended to vaccinate in time, after all, vaccination can obtain targeted protection." Feng Luzhao said. Regarding the contraindications of vaccination, Feng Luzhao reminds: "Firstly, those who are allergic to vaccine ingredients should not be vaccinated; secondly, patients who are in the acute phase of chronic disease or are in the acute phase of the disease should be advised to postpone vaccination; thirdly, patients with immune function defects or immunosuppressive diseases should not be vaccinated with attenuated live vaccines