According to Nivel, there was a notable increase in the group of people aged 65 and older last week. The current flu outbreak started in December, the week before Christmas. The flu virus was found in nearly half of the samples taken from the patients.
Officially, there is now a “moderate intensity” flu epidemic. Nivel talks about it when between 103 and 172 people for every 100,000 Dutch people go to the doctor every week with flu symptoms.
Because many people with the flu don’t go to the doctor and have it fixed at home, the actual number of people with the flu is invariably higher.
The pressure on hospitals has increased in recent weeks. Since other virus infections such as the RS virus are currently also circulating in the Netherlands, there is a lot going on in the hospitals.
