Within two weeks, 13 flu deaths in a nursing home

Within two weeks, 13 nursing home residents die of influenza
In a nursing home in France, 13 residents died of influenza within two weeks. The Minister of Health of the country calls for a quick explanation of the causes of the unusual accumulation.

13 flu deaths within two weeks
In a French nursing home, 13 residents died of influenza within two weeks. According to a report from the AFP news agency, the Ministry of Health in Paris announced that six more residents of the Lyons home in Lyon are in hospital. France's Health Minister Marisol Touraine called for a swift explanation of the causes of this "unusual incident".

In a French nursing home, 13 residents died of influenza within two weeks. The Minister of Health demands a quick explanation of the causes of the unusual accumulation. (Image: Kzenon / fotolia.com)

Especially older people need to be treated in the hospital
According to media reports, 72 of the 110 residents of the old people's home fell ill between December 23rd and January 7th.

Across the country, 381 influenza patients have been in an emergency room since the beginning of November, with 22 of them dying. People over the age of 80 account for 63 percent of patients who have to go to hospital for flu.

Difference between flu and simple cold
Patients are often not sure if a flu or influenza infection is responsible for their symptoms. Not all of them go to the doctor and even there people with cold symptoms are not always tested for influenza.

Unlike the common cold, the flu is a weeks-long and contagious disease. It occurs quite suddenly and manifests itself among other things by high fever, joint and limb pain, chills, headache and cough.

According to health experts, deaths from the flu virus are nothing out of the ordinary. According to estimates of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), around 20,000 people in Germany died of influenza in the 2014/15 season. (Ad)