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Are we skipping the flu epidemic this year? ‘We can expect it’

The coronavirus seems to have expelled the flu virus, at least if you believe influenza figures from the southern hemisphere. When corona spread around the world in the spring, the number of flu cases plummeted almost immediately. This is remarkable, because the southern hemisphere is said to be at the beginning of the annual flu wave in March.

That the flu epidemic it southern hemisphere this year is not surprising, according to Ron Fouchier, virologist at Erasmus MC in Rotterdam and coordinator of the National Influenza Center. “This is probably due to the corona measures,” Fouchier explains Heart of the Netherlands. “Because people stay at home when they are sick and by practicing good hygiene. That not only works against Covid, but also against other respiratory viruses. ”

But Fouchier has another explanation for the lack of the flu wave. “We often see that if there is an epidemic of virus A, virus B has less chance after that. So it is probably a combination of those two factors. ”

Also read: Hospitals worried about flu season: ‘The pressure is extra high this year’

Influenza is unpredictable

Whether the absence of the flu wave in the southern hemisphere also offers hope for the Netherlands, Fouchier does not yet dare to say. “I do have a crystal ball, but it doesn’t work very well. Influenza, as the flu virus is called, is incredibly unpredictable. We can expect it, but it is not one hundred percent certain. ”

That is why Fouchier emphasizes that people should get the flu shot when they are called to do so. “If you get the flu and Covid at the same time, you’re in bad shape. The chance of a serious disease course or death is then high. So you not only protect yourself with a flu shot against the flu, but also against a serious double infection. ”

Also read: Flu season is upon us, but is your cough a symptom of the flu or corona?

Not necessarily good news

According to Fouchier, it is only towards the end of the flu season that we can say with certainty whether we have skipped the flu epidemic this year. “Sometimes we have an epidemic that comes as late as March. So we can’t say it until March. ”

It is also not necessarily good news if we skip it. “We had a mild flu epidemic last year. If there is a mild one again, or none at all, it may mean that next winter more people may be susceptible to the flu. ”

The idea that people permanently implement the corona measures in their lives and thus ‘eradicate’ the flu is also uncertain, according to Fouchier. “We learn when we are little from our parents to cough into our hands, but they don’t tell us to wash our hands right after,” he explains. “I think people are always dirty and lazy. I am pleasantly surprised that the measures have now been able to contain a virus infection, but I do not think we will continue to do so afterwards. ”

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