Erfurt (dpa/th) – The 2021/2022 flu season in Thuringia was not quite as mild as the year before, but the number of cases remained well below the level before the corona pandemic. From the beginning of October to the end of June, a total of 508 proven cases of viral flu (influenza) were recorded, according to the final report of the season published by the State Office for Consumer Protection on Friday. Children and young people were particularly affected. According to earlier information, only about two dozen flu cases were registered in Thuringia in the 2020/21 season, which experts believe was related to the corona protective measures such as face masks and lockdown.
Most cases were registered in the Nordhausen district, although this does not have to say anything about the actual infection process. Because doctors often do without laboratory diagnostics because of the mostly clear symptoms, many cases of flu do not appear in the statistics. The data collected mainly reflected the sending activity of Thuringian doctors for laboratory diagnostics. There was initially no information on possible deaths and hospital admissions due to the flu.
In the 2019/2020 pre-pandemic season, Thuringia experienced one of the most violent flu waves in recent years. According to the ministry at the time, more than 9,300 cases of flu had been reported and there were eight deaths.