Significantly more flu cases last winter

Flu epidemic: number of reported cases significantly increased
Already in October first flu cases were reported in Berlin and Brandenburg. Most of the illnesses start later. Now there are numbers on the past flu epidemic. In Brandenburg, the number of reported flu cases increased significantly last winter.
Flu comes all of a sudden
Flu is sudden and unexpected in most cases. Patients feel flabby and sick from one moment to the next, with the feeling of sickness affecting the entire body. In addition, chills, high fever, body aches, sweating, headache, dry cough, swollen nasal mucosa and eye tears. The viruses are transmitted by droplet infection and can be particularly dangerous for weakened people or seniors, for example, if there is a cardiovascular disease. The number of cases varies from year to year.

Flu cases have risen. Picture: auremar - fotolia

Significantly more illnesses reported
As reported by the dpa news agency, doctors in Brandenburg detected more than ten times more influenza cases last winter than in the previous season. This is evident from figures from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Accordingly, in the flu season 2014/15 a total of 2,932 diseases were reported. In the previous season, there were only 212 cases nationwide. Only in the winter of 2012/2013 and in the year of the swine flu 2009/2010 was the number of reports exceeded.

Flu waves are very different
According to an RKI spokeswoman, however, no findings on current flu diseases can be derived from this. "It is typical of the virus that flu outbreaks are very different," she told the German Press Agency. Normally, the peak begins in January and often flattens again in April. She warned against overvaluing the figures. "One should not see it that way: many cases - heavy wave," said the spokeswoman. The RKI only counts the reported cases. The number of reports also depends on how many patients are being tested for the influenza virus. For example, many patients wanted to be certain in the swine flu year. However, it was considered overall, in the opinion of the RKI 2009/2010, only a moderate wave. (Ad)