The influenza epidemic continued to accelerate

The flu epidemic accelerated last week. The Center for Virology at MedUni Vienna recorded “a sharp increase in influenza virus activity throughout Austria,” the institute reports online today. The number of confirmed virus detections increased from about 70 in calendar week (KW) 46 and more than 150 in the following week to about 240. However, these are random samples; The actual number of cases is much higher.

The Influenza Reporting Service of the City of Vienna estimated 23,150 new cases of influenza and influenza for the previous week (week 48). In the previous week, an increase from 16,250 to 17,850 cases was recorded.

earlier and stronger

However, this was also higher than the peak value of the last flu wave before the coronavirus pandemic. The peak of the 2019/20 season in Vienna was not reached until after the end of the year in the sixth week with 13,900 cases of influenza and true cases of influenza.

As feared, the flu hit this year much earlier and stronger than usual. In the past two winters, there was no flu wave in Austria due to coronavirus measures. According to Viennese bloggers, there is generally “increased activity of the influenza virus” in Europe. Germany, Kazakhstan, Portugal, Russia, Turkey and Scotland in particular have reported many cases of influenza.

Vaccination protection on demand

Flu vaccines for the 2022/2023 season work well with the flu pathogens already circulating. Recently, American scientists have proven this in laboratory tests. This means that there is still a good chance of getting vaccinated against influenza.

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