The number of influenza cases confirmed in the laboratory in Germany has risen again slightly. Around 2,400 people were reported to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) last week – more than in the previous three weeks, as the Influenza Working Group reported on Wednesday evening. The proportion of so-called influenza B viruses has increased significantly in recent weeks.
The RKI had recently announced the end of the exceptionally early flu wave. This was caused by influenza viruses of subtype A(H3N2). Even in earlier flu waves, the proportion of influenza B often increased after the initial circulation of influenza A.
A total of around 267,420 confirmed cases of flu have been reported to the RKI since the beginning of the season. The number of deaths from influenza infection was given as 904 in the report.
The number of reports only represent an excerpt of what actually happened. The RKI usually assesses the severity of the wave afterwards.
The relatively high activity of acute respiratory infections overall – even after the end of the flu and RSV wave – seems to be caused by a combination of different pathogens, it said. Among them are typical cold viruses. “The current value was in the upper range of the pre-pandemic years around this time.” (dpa)
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