NewsDesk @bactiman63

The flu epidemic that started in mid-December 2022 is over. This is the conclusion drawn by experts from RIVM and Erasmus MC (Erasmus University Medical Center)and the Nivel based on data from general practitioners, hospitals and laboratories.

generic influenza virion
3D influenza/CDC

At the end of January, the number of people who went to the doctor with flu-like complaints already decreased. The number was then below the limit for an epidemic, but the decline did not continue. In addition, the number of samples in which the flu virus was found remained high and even increased again. That is why the experts continued to speak of a flu epidemic. In the past two weeks, the number of people who visited their GP with flu-like symptoms fell further to the level before the flu epidemic. In addition, the number of samples with the flu virus (influenza virus) also decreased to the level of the beginning of the flu epidemic. This decrease was seen for samples from general practices, laboratories and hospitals.

The flu epidemic started in mid-December 2022. The number of people who went to the GP with flu-like complaints was above the epidemic limit of 58 in 100,000 people for a total of 4 weeks. The peak of the epidemic was in the first week of 2023, when 99 out of 100,000 people with flu-like symptoms went to their GP.

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In addition to the aforementioned limit, the experts also check whether flu virus or other respiratory viruses are present in the samples taken from a number of people who visit their GP with flu-like symptoms. This also applies to samples from laboratories and hospitals.

The combination of all this data shows that the flu epidemic occurred in two phases. A first wave was seen between mid-December and late January. This was followed by a second, milder, wave that has lasted until now.