Are you sniffling and coughing on the couch? Then you’re not alone. The flu season has started, according to the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). But there is no question of a pandemic yet.
About 30 out of 100,000 people visit the GP with flu-like symptoms, according to the most recent figures from the RIVM, which AD writes about. Samples taken by sentinel stations of the Nivel research institute, which are located at various GPs, show that the number of people with the influenza virus (flu) has increased. Last week, 14 percent of patients with a respiratory infection tested positive for the virus.
Corona time
There is an epidemic when at least 58 out of 100,000 people with the flu go to the doctor and 10 percent of the patients tested positive for the influenza virus. At the moment it is a “normal course” of the flu as it was also seen before corona, says the RIVM.
The expectation is that the figures will in any case rise slightly further, given that there were fewer flu symptoms during the corona period.
In addition to influenza, other viruses were also detected in the samples last week. Mainly human metapneumovirus, rs virus and rhinovirus. Corona also occurred, but the number of patients has been stable for the past four weeks.
Germany
In our eastern neighbours, the number of people currently suffering from an infection or disease is at a historically high level. This is what chairman Christian Karagiannidis of the German Association for Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine says to the Rheinische Post on Saturday. According to Karagiannidis, almost all IC beds are occupied in many regions.
Coronavirus infections are no longer the biggest problem, he emphasizes. It concerns a very wide range of diseases: flu, RS virus, coronavirus and other respiratory diseases. On top of that come the usual emergencies. The IC doctor hopes that the Christmas holidays will provide relief, because then the number of admissions often drops.
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By: Editorial