Flu wave in NRW: Children are particularly affected - experts warn!

Flu wave in NRW: Children are particularly affected - experts warn!

The flu wave in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) is currently picking up. More than 5,000 new influenza cases were registered within a week. The district of Euskirchen is particularly affected, where 51 new flu cases were recorded last week. So far, 15 more cases have been added this week. For comparison: In the same time there were only eight new Corona cases in the Euskirchen district, which illustrates the severity of the Situation. The federal chairman of the general practitioner association, Markus Beier, expects the number of cases to increase in particular after the holidays. He points out that a continuous increase in the flu cases in the coming weeks must be expected before a decline follows. Compared to the previous year, however, there is only a slight increase in the flu cases in the district of Euskirchen, such as radioeuskirchen.de

The most commonly affected age group are the children aged 0 to 14 years. This development is alarming because, according to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), around 7.9 million people are currently fighting with acute respiratory diseases in Germany. The highlight of this flu wave was found on December 30th when the proportion of people infected with influenza viruses on the acute respiratory diseases reached the border that defines a wave. In children aged 5 to 14 years, there is an increase in flu infections, but there are also significant numbers of cases among younger children and adults. In addition, an increase in respiratory syncytial viruses (RSV) was observed in small children (0 to 4 years), which continues to complicate the situation, such as Tagesschau.de

Current situation in Germany

The current figures are as high as the highlights of the flu waves of the two pre -season. The number of severe acute respiratory infections has more than doubled since the turn of the year. These figures are not only worrying for the families concerned, but also for the health system, which suffers from the increase in visits to the doctor. Terrifyingly, the flu is often dismissed as a simple cold, which does not apply. The federal press spokesman for the professional association of pediatricians, Jakob Maske, reports on seriously ill young people and children with high fever and clear signs of illness.

The situation continues to come to a head, since the increase in flu infections is traditionally recorded, especially after the Christmas holidays. In this context, however, it is also pointed out to the importance of flu vaccination. Although it is late at the end of January, experts clarify that it is not too late to be vaccinated, especially for risk patients. The Federal Association of Pediatricians also speaks out for flu vaccinations in children and warns to contain the spread of the flu viruses, such as Zeit.de