Significantly more influenza cases this season than last winter

Already 3,700 flu cases have been reported in Bavaria
In some regions of Germany, the current flu season started significantly earlier than in previous years. In Bavaria, significantly more illnesses were registered than in the comparable period of last winter. Experts are not sure if a major flu epidemic threatens.

More than 1000 new diseases in one week
Fever, headache, body aches: The flu epidemic is in full swing. According to a news agency dpa, the number of influenza cases in Bavaria has risen this season to around 3,700. The State Office for Health (LGL) in Erlangen reported that more than 1,000 new illnesses were registered in the past week alone.

The current flu season has started much earlier than in previous years. In Bavaria, about 3,700 diseases have already been registered. (Image: hbrh / fotolia.com)

Flu season started earlier this time
According to the information, there were only 564 cases in the winter of 2015 compared to 2016 at the comparable time. However, the current flu season started at the beginning of December - instead of mid-January, as in previous years.

According to agency information, there was the heaviest flu epidemic last winter 2014/2015. At its peak, the LGL counted around 2,500 cases in just one week.

According to health experts, however, no statement can yet be made as to whether the season has only been postponed and is waning again earlier, or whether there will be an increase in cases at the end.

Do not take lightly
"An influenza illness (flu) is better today and treated under different medical care conditions than at the beginning of the last century," writes the LGL on its website.

But, "For people with underlying conditions, flu can be a life-threatening complication."

Because of the similar symptoms, patients are often not sure whether a flu or a flu 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.

In contrast to the common cold, which usually begins slowly, the flu occurs quite suddenly and manifests itself among other things by high fever, joint and limb pain, chills, and headaches.

According to experts, deaths from the influenza virus are not uncommon. According to estimates of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), around 20,000 people died of influenza nationwide in the 2014/15 season. (Ad)