The corona incidence is stagnating – and other respiratory diseases are increasing. “The pressure of infection is generally high in autumn in all age groups, since the spread of acute respiratory infections is also more difficult to prevent due to staying indoors more frequently and for longer periods,” writes the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in its weekly report on the development published yesterday evening the corona pandemic.
Nationwide, the seven-day incidence last week remained the same compared to the previous week, they say. In the week before, the corona incidence had fallen by 17 percent in the same period. The number of hospital treatments for people with a severe acute respiratory infection and COVID-19 also did not decrease any further.
RKI speaks of “plateau formation”
Looking at more recent figures, Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach (SPD) wrote on Twitter on Wednesday: “Now the winter wave is beginning.” The RKI does not go that far in its report last week. But it writes: “A plateau is currently emerging.”
However, the incidences only provide an incomplete picture of the infection situation. Experts have been assuming for some time that there will be a large number of cases not recorded by the RKI. Most of the report’s findings relate to the past week.
The proportion of the omicron subline BQ.1.1 continued to increase in the week before last. Their share is now 13.4 percent. Nevertheless, with the increasing spread of BQ.1.1, no increase in the burden of disease is observed, writes the RKI.
Other viruses cause respiratory infections
In addition to Corona, other diseases are currently burdening the healthcare system. According to data from the online survey “GrippeWeb”, the number of acute respiratory diseases (ARE) has risen again compared to the previous week. According to the RKI, it was around 8.2 million last week – well above the range of previous years.
Reasons for visiting a doctor because of an acute respiratory infection are therefore influenza viruses, the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and to a lesser extent the corona virus.
Amid a surge in RSV and flu infections in Europe, leading health experts yesterday called for high-risk groups to be vaccinated against flu (influenza) and Covid-19. Children’s hospitals in particular are currently burdened by the high number of RSV infections. You can get RSV at any age, but the pathogen is particularly important in infants and small children.
