# Impact of COVID-related prevention measures on other infectious diseases?

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impact-of-covid-related-prevention-measures-on-other-infectious-diseases/853016>\
**Category:** The Quarantine Zone\
**Tags:** covid-quarantine\
**Created:** [May 2, 2020, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impact-of-covid-related-prevention-measures-on-other-infectious-diseases/853016 "2020-05-02T11:22:09Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 3\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de053/32.png) [@Jackknifed\_Juggernaut](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackknifed_Juggernaut)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impact-of-covid-related-prevention-measures-on-other-infectious-diseases/853016/1 "2020-05-02T11:22:09Z")

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What makes the novel Coronavirus unique is its resiliency that allows for it to spread itself among the population, whether through the air or by staying “alive” on surfaces for periods longer than other pathogens. In order to combat this, most parts of the world have implemented a variety of strategies including social distancing, face mask use, promotion of better sanitary practices, etc.

While there is plenty of evidence that these strategies have slowed down the spread of COVID, I would think that their impact in reducing the spread of other infectious diseases would even be greater. Is there data on how the spread of influenza, the common cold, bacterial infections, etc. have been reduced? The flip side of this question is, as we begin to relax the guidelines, should we also expect non-COVID infectious diseases to also bounce back?

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**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impact-of-covid-related-prevention-measures-on-other-infectious-diseases/853016/2 "2020-05-02T13:44:24Z")

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First I must disagree with the first part. It is not an unusually “resilient” germ. Its ability to spread is more the fact that so much of the population is naive to it, and that so many people are up and around spreading it, presymptomatically, asymptomatically, and mildly symptomatically.

To the second part, I don’t have official numbers at the ready but it was clearly seen. The same social distancing measures drove influenza completely off the grid and influenza was not alone. Very little infectious disease in general and no I don’t think they will bounce so much so fast (not so many naive to them, and now due for seasonal declines anyway).

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**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\
**Post date:** [May 2, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/impact-of-covid-related-prevention-measures-on-other-infectious-diseases/853016/3 "2020-05-02T15:28:06Z")

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I did find this for Japan.

[https://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-sees-silver-lining-to-coronavirus-as-flu-cases-drop-11583073526](https://www.wsj.com/articles/japan-sees-silver-lining-to-coronavirus-as-flu-cases-drop-11583073526)

> **[Influenza wave drastically wanes in Japan amid new coronavirus spread](https://english.kyodonews.net/news/2020/02/508f8e9b5f0b-influenza-wave-drastically-wanes-in-japan-amid-new-coronavirus-spread.html)**
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> A wave of influenza has been significantly waning in Japan compared with the previous year, government data show, as many people have become wary of infection with a new pneumonia-causing coronavirus raging in China.

> [@](#):
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> For the week through Feb. 9, the number of reported influenza cases plunged more than 60 percent from a year earlier to 44,737, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare. During the same period last year, 129,989 cases were reported.
> 
> The health ministry also said the number of schools that were forced to close classes against a backdrop of an influenza outbreak was 1,760 for seven days from Feb. 3, sharply down from 3,204 compared with the same week in 2019.