People in Germany continue to become increasingly ill with the flu. Influenza activity increased again significantly in the week up to January 28th, as shown in the report by the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) on the subject. Of the approximately 69,000 flu cases that have been confirmed in the laboratory since October, around 25,000 occurred in the previous week. A high number of unreported cases can be assumed.
What is typical of the flu is that the illness usually begins suddenly. For example with fever, fatigue, headache and cough. The disease can be fatal. “In older people, influenza virus infections, but also Covid-19, are increasingly causing serious illnesses,” writes the RKI. But schoolchildren can also end up in the hospital with it.
Overall, the experts report a further increase in acute respiratory illnesses in a weekly comparison. This particularly affects school children between the ages of 5 and 14. Regardless of a doctor’s visit, it is estimated that around 6.1 million acute respiratory illnesses occurred in the population last week. The value is at a similar level to the years before the pandemic.
In addition to the flu, the situation is determined by the RSV wave (respiratory syncytial virus). The number of confirmed corona infections continues to decline.
