Worst flu epidemic of the last decades broke out in the UK

If the dangerous H3N2 flu virus also comes to Germany?

At present, English media are increasingly reporting a massive outbreak of the influenza virus H3N2. The media speak of the biggest flu epidemic of the last decades. The virus is referred to as "Aussie Flu" in English, as it is the same strain that has recently caused major problems in Australia. There were reported 170,000 reported cases. The flu virus has already spread to almost all areas of the UK. English hospitals are under tremendous pressure as the H3N2 virus is particularly dangerous and can cause serious flu cases, especially in older people, which in the worst case can be fatal.

In Ireland, the flu epidemic has already led to deaths, and even the Catholic Church is trying to limit the spread of the virus through preventive measures. Also in England, according to recent reports from Public Health England (PHE), an increasing number of people in ICUs had to be treated. Dorchester and the city of London are the last remaining places where no cases of influenza H3N2 have been reported. The National Health Service reports that flu rates are already twice as high as last year.

If the flu epidemic also comes to Germany?

In Germany, the number of flu illnesses at the end of 2017 was slightly higher. More recent figures from the Robert Koch Institute are not yet available, but gave the RKI spokeswoman Susanne Glasmacher all-clear to "focus online" to consider: "The flu course in another country can not draw conclusions about the course in their own country." Even A severe flu epidemic in an adjacent country does not have to mean that the pathogens spread to Germany. According to Glasmacher, the spread of a pathogen depends, among other things, on how many vaccinations there have been in each country.

What is H3N2??

Every winter, a few virus strains of H3N2 spread. It is an influenza A virus that can cause severe infections in young children and the elderly. Most people will recover in about a week and need no special treatment, apart from bed rest and plenty of fluid intake. For very young or very old people, however, the virus is dangerous and can even be deadly. Even people with health problems, such as heart disease, are among the risk group. The Standing Vaccination Commission at the RKI advises elderly people with a weakened immune system and chronically ill people to take the flu vaccine to prevent illness.

H3N2 virus occurrence in Germany

According to Glasmacher, there are currently very few H3N2 cases in Germany. Instead, a relatively large number of flu cases of influenza type B were found. In winter, the H3N2 virus was the dominant representative of the flu in Germany from 2015 to 2016. "The Australians have rather inherited the flu of the northern hemisphere, not vice versa," explains Glasmacher. (Fp)