Flu causes crowded clinics

02/27/2015

The flu has Germany firmly under control. In the eighth calendar week alone, more than 7,000 influenza patients were registered nationwide. These are more cases than in the entire flu season 2013/2014 with a total of 6,200 affected patients. In the north, more and more influenza cases are reported. Many clinics can hardly handle the patient load.

Significantly more flu cases than in the past season
Since last October, the number of laboratory-confirmed flu cases has been steadily rising. In the meantime, a total of almost 27,000 affected persons have been registered, as informed by the Working Group on Influenza (AGI) at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). Eleven percent of the patients were hospitalized in hospitals. 51 deaths were also registered.

The number of visits to the doctor has also risen sharply in view of the "sharply increased influenza activity" reported by the AGI for the South, Mid (West), North (West) and East. Some clinics are already full. "The situation is regionally different, but sometimes the hospitals are under great pressure," said Holger Mages of the German Hospital Association to the news agency "dpa". The situation is also exacerbated because many patients instead of the family doctor would go directly to the emergency room. In principle, the clinics are trying hard to create additional capacity.

"The emergency rooms in Bavaria are all completely full," said the spokesman for the State Hospital Society, Eduard Fuchshuber, to the news agency. "I have never experienced it as extreme as this year." A similar picture is also shown in many clinics in Baden-Württemberg.

In Lower Saxony there are bottlenecks in the hospitals due to the flu
Meanwhile, the north of Germany is affected. "It is a nationwide problem, but particularly affected are the metropolitan areas," reported Helge Engelke of the State Hospital in Hanover in an interview with the news agency. In Braunschweig, for example, "patient beds were set up in the hallway". Since the flu is very contagious, the victims must be accommodated individually, "which also contributes to the aggravation of the problem".

According to the news agency, the situation in individual hospitals in Hesse has eased somewhat, although there are still many influenza cases there as well. Brigitte Wagner, managing director of the hospital group Hessen, gives however still no all-clear. It can not yet be spoken of a turnaround.

There is currently no effective protection against the flu, because it is too late for a flu vaccine, because the protective effect is only about 14 days after vaccination. In addition, the vaccine is less effective against the most common influenza virus this year. Experts advise people to avoid crowding and contact with the sick and regularly wash their hands thoroughly. (Ag)