Wednesday, 10 April 2013 - 16:17
Longest Flu Epidemic
The influenza epidemic that has raged in the Netherlands for 16 weeks is the longest epidemic the country has had in 20 years, according to the research institute Nivel.
Since the best living conditions for a virus are low temperatures and low humidity, the virus has been able to last this long because of the long period of frost in the Netherlands. NOS.nl reports that although several viruses are circulating at the same time, the epidemic is a mild one.
An influenza epidemic is determined when 51 in 100,000 people report flu to the doctor within one week. This number should be multiplied by ten to get the real number because not everyone visits the doctor.