From . – 19.01.2023 12:45 (act. 19.01.2023 12:50)
Vienna: The flu wave subsided. ©APA/Barbara Gindl (symbol image)
The Vienna health service estimated 13,150 new cases of flu and flu-like illnesses last week.
This is similar to the number at the peak of the last flu epidemic before the corona pandemic in the 2019/20 season.
Vienna: Flu epidemic subsided
The peak of the current wave was reached in Vienna in the week before Christmas (week 50), with nearly 34,000 estimated flu and influenza infections. From there, new infections initially dropped slightly from a high level and after the turn of the year from 31,000 to 18,500 (week 1) dropped significantly. For two years, measures to contain the corona virus have delayed the flu. This winter, however, several viruses were able to circulate almost without restrictions and the strong cold wave of 2016/17 was also overcome, when nearly 20,000 cases of flu and similar illnesses were estimated in Vienna at its peak.
©APA
Influenza and flu-like illnesses: Decreased incidence within seven days
The Food Safety and Health Agency (AGES) also reported a decline in Austria in the previous week. The seven-day incidence (number of new cases in a week) of “real” flu and flu-like illness dropped from week 1 to week 2 from 3,000 extrapolated to 2,850 cases per 100,000 population. As in Vienna, the peak was also reached in Austria as a whole at week 50, with an incidence of 5,850 cases. Now, the positivity rate of samples tested for influenza has dropped from 46 to 23% in a weekly comparison.
More than 1,000 flu deaths per year
On average, 15 out of 100,000 people in Austria die from the flu every year. According to the Ministry of Health, this corresponds to more than 1,000 deaths per year. However, the number varies greatly depending on the variant of the virus. In the last major flu wave in 2016/17, the number of deaths was estimated at more than 4,000, according to AGES data. 90 percent of those who die from the flu are the elderly and children, for whom vaccination is also particularly recommended.