Wearing masks on buses and trains, working from home for many employees and hardly any large events. The extensive protective measures against Corona have also made it more difficult for the flu virus. However, the infections do not go back to almost zero as usual.
Bochum (dpa / lnw) – The flu wave has again largely failed to appear in North Rhine-Westphalia. A total of 1,361 cases of influenza were reported to the North Rhine-Westphalia state health center during the 2021/22 flu season, according to a spokeswoman for the German Press Agency. In the 2020/21 flu season, only 98 cases were reported nationwide. Before the corona pandemic, the number of influenza cases in the most populous federal state was between 25,000 and 36,000 per season. During the flu season, the period from calendar week 40 to calendar week 20 of the following year is used.
According to the state center, there is no reliable information about the increase in flu cases at a very low level. For example, more extensive corona protection measures and possibly also greater acceptance and more stringent implementation in the previous season could have played a role. It is also conceivable that a change in testing behavior had an impact because the flu had become more of a focus again: In the most recent season, more people with the corresponding symptoms may not only have been tested for Covid-19, but also for influenza.
However, the state center found that in the most recent flu season, the number of cases towards the end had not dropped to almost zero as in the previous seasons. The number of influenza cases reported weekly has remained at the same level since the 15th calendar week of 2022. The influenza event was apparently postponed in the most recent season, it said.
In the most recent flu season, according to the data up to May 25, 2022, one influenza death was reported. That was also the case in the 2020/21 flu season. In the 2019/20 flu season there were 130 deaths after 180 in the 2018/19 season.
