Flu epidemic continuing into a third week; Flu cases at highest point in 3 years

The flu epidemic in the Netherlands is continuing further into 2023. Last week, general practitioners saw 66 patients with flu-like symptoms for every 100,000 residents. That is slightly less than in the week before Christmas, but it remains the highest level since the end of March and the beginning of April 2020. That period crossed over with the earliest confirmed period of the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

Last week, research institute Nivel reported 70 residents with flu-like symptoms for every 100,000 inhabitants. Officially, there has been a flu epidemic in the Netherlands for two weeks. Nivel on Wednesday acknowledged the "continuation of the flu epidemic."

The RIVM, the Dutch public health institute, generally considers an epidemic to be ongoing when more than 58 out of 100,000 people visit a GP with complaints that suggest the patient has the flu. Additionally, at least ten percent of examined samples must contain the flu virus.

Nivel reported that the flu virus has been found in considerably more samples that GPs have collected from symptomatic patients. Last week, a total of 71 samples were taken, the influenza virus was found in almost half of them.

At the same time, the number of scabies is falling. In the past week, GPs saw about 25 patients per 100,000 people, the lowest number in about seven weeks. Last week, 40 out of 100,000 people had scabies.