Photo: Mojca-Peter via pixabay
Since 21 December 2022 there has been an official flu epidemic in the Netherlands. Over the past two weeks, hospitals, general practitioners and nursing homes in Utrecht have had to deal with an increase in flu patients and healthcare staff absenteeism. This means additional capacity pressure in the healthcare chain, which could result in longer waiting times for patients. The upward trend in respiratory infections is now leading to heightened vigilance among healthcare professionals. Acute first aid is still guaranteed in our region.
In the two years of coronavirus measures such as social distancing, the flu virus has had little chance to spread among the population. These measures are now finished and therefore the flu virus has more room to spread. By the end of the year, 70 people for every 100,000 Dutch people had reported flu-like symptoms to their GP. Nicolette Rigter is director of public health in the Utrecht region: “We ask our healthcare professionals and patients who have received an invitation from their doctor to undergo the flu vaccination (again).”
In addition to the influenza virus, other viruses that cause respiratory ailments are currently circulating, such as the RS virus, coronavirus, human metapneumovirus and rhinovirus. He is therefore very busy in the entire healthcare chain. More people with flu-like symptoms are coming to general practitioners and there are more isolation patients in nursing homes, nursing homes and hospitals. This adds to the assistance capacity also provided by these institutions.
An increasing trend in the number of pneumonias is observed in a relatively large number of older people (65+ years). Furthermore, the RS virus is twice as common in young children as before the corona pandemic. Last week, the Dutch Association of Pediatrics (NVK) once again drew the attention of pediatricians to the possibility of spreading children across the region. It is not necessary at the moment.
