The number of people with the flu has risen sharply in recent weeks. The influenza virus was found in more than half of the throat and nose samples taken at the nivel sentinel stations of the general practitioners. In addition, the GGD test streets, hospitals and laboratories are tested for influenza, and there is also a sharp increase.
A flu epidemic is generally spoken of when more than 58 out of 100,000 people visit their doctor for two weeks in a row with flu-like symptoms and at least 10 percent of these people have the influenza virus.
The relationship with lifting the measures is obvious, say the experts at RIVM. Now that many measures have been released, people have more contact with others and the risk of respiratory infections such as the flu may also increase.
Since October 2021 – the start of the current flu season – the flu virus has only been found very occasionally in the Netherlands. This was probably due to the corona measures, which also prevent the spread of the flu virus.