health
RKI: Flu wave already ended after an early start
In the years before the pandemic, the flu epidemic usually only started after the turn of the year. photo
© Bernd Weißbrod/dpa
The full extent of the flu epidemic has not yet been determined, but the Robert Koch Institute has at least an initial assessment of the situation.
After an exceptionally early start in autumn 2022, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) now considers the flu epidemic in Germany to be over. According to the definition of the RKI’s influenza working group, it ended after eleven weeks with the first week of this year, as can be seen from their flu report on Wednesday evening. However, that does not mean that there are no more flu infections: the season is still ongoing, only the phase of increased activity is over for the time being.
In the years before the pandemic, the flu epidemic usually only started after the turn of the year. The number of influenza infections nationwide in the laboratory and reported to the RKI this season is almost 260,000 so far. That’s just a snippet of what’s going on. The severity of the wave is usually only assessed afterwards by the RKI.
Other respiratory illnesses are occurring at levels usual for the time of year, compared to years prior to the pandemic, according to the report. According to virological analyzes of samples from doctor’s offices, RSV, cold coronaviruses and rhinoviruses were the most common symptoms last week, the report says. The RSV wave continues.