The Czech Republic continues to face an influenza epidemic. The State Health Institute (SZU) said on Monday that although the data show a significant drop in the last week of last year, the data were affected by the Christmas holidays.
According to the data, the incidence of acute respiratory diseases fell by about a quarter (26.3 percent) to 1,770 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, but the epidemic persists.
“The statistical decline in morbidity does not correspond to the real situation, and we have to take reports of the incidence with a grain of salt because of the days off. Moreover, in the non-epidemic season, the drop in morbidity is usually much greater on public holidays,” said Jan Kynčl, head of the Infectious Diseases Department of the National Institute of Health, who said that the highest morbidity rates are currently in the South Moravian, Moravian-Silesian, South Bohemian, Liberec, and Pardubice regions, as well as in Vysočina.
The Health Insurance Office reminded people that many people did not go to the doctor or the emergency room during the Christmas and New Year holidays and thus are not included in morbidity statistics.
Doctors recorded the highest drop in sickness rates among children aged 6 to 14 years (by almost 42). The Christmas holidays played a significant role in this.
Influenza itself is still on the rise despite the drop in overall morbidity (4.1 percent last week), with the increase recorded last week mainly in the adult population. So far this flu season, doctors have recorded 75 clinically severe cases, 18 of which have resulted in death.
“We have had deaths from severe influenza infection reported mainly in people over 65, with 16 cases. Two of the deaths then fell into the 25-64-year-old category,” the SZU said.
On the positive side, the decline in the activity of RS viruses, which had been spreading for several weeks before the end of last year, continues, especially among children.