Estimates of the German Robert Koch Institute for Public Health indicate that the beginning of the influenza wave in Germany is looming on the horizon.
A recent report by the institute stated that there had been a noticeable increase in the number of cases of infection reported since the beginning of last December, pointing out that it was informed in the week that began on the second of December of approximately 1,220 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza infection, while it had reached This number in the week that began on the 30th of the same month reached about 4,560 cases.
The institute explained that the annual influenza wave often began in January in recent years, and lasted for a period ranging between 3 and 4 months.
In a simple way, it can be considered that the influenza wave began when influenza viruses (AOB) were detected in one out of every 5 patient samples.
The number of hospitalizations due to influenza diagnoses also increased.
In the week beginning December 2, about 18% of patients were hospitalized, while in the week beginning December 30, the percentage was about 27%. These figures are based on cases reported to the Robert Koch Institute.
The institute also monitored an increase in cases of infection with the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), as the institute announced that in the week that began on December 30, it received reports of 967 cases of this type of infection, compared to about 430 cases at the beginning of December. December. So far, 5 deaths associated with this virus infection have been reported for the season.
The institute saw that the activity of acute respiratory infections decreased during the holiday period in general, as was the case in previous years, pointing out that in the first week of the new year, the incidence of acute respiratory infections reached about 6,300 cases per 100,000 people, compared to 7,900 cases per 100,000 people. breeze in the previous week.