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The number of people with the flu continues to rise, according to new data from the RIVM. More and more people turn to their general practitioner with flu complaints and a large number of flu viruses are detected in hospital laboratories.
Last week, 103 out of 100,000 residents went to their GP with flu-like symptoms, according to research institute Nivel. A week earlier this was still at 66 per 100,000.
In samples taken from people with a respiratory tract infection, the proportion of the flu virus was found to be high: 37 percent of samples tested positive last week. This means that the flu epidemic continues. In the last week of December, 49 percent of tests came back positive, up from 36 percent the previous week.
Other viruses too
It is not known how many people actually get the flu, but it is always higher than the official figures because many people get sick at home without seeing a doctor. In addition to the influenza virus, other viruses that cause respiratory ailments, such as the RS virus and the corona virus, are circulating in the Netherlands.
The flu epidemic Start four weeks ago, just before Christmas. In the Netherlands, a flu epidemic is defined as more than 58 out of 100,000 people visit their general practitioner with flu-like symptoms for two consecutive weeks and at least 10% of these people have the flu virus.
