It seems that everywhere you look there are people coughing, sneezing and battling the sniffles. While winter is typically the season in which many people get sick, the number of people felled by flu, colds, Covid-19 or something else seems higher than usual this time around.
December saw "an enormous rise" in Covid cases due to a new virus variant, the start of the flu epidemic, an increasing number of regular colds, the tail end of RSV season and even a new bacteria making people sick.
"It indeed feels a bit like everyone is or has been sick over the past few weeks," Steven Van Gucht, virologist for the Sciensano national health institute, told The Brussels Times. "And that feeling is quite correct: the figures also prove that there are an awful lot of people walking around with complaints of colds or flu-like symptoms."
Still, it is "not an exceptional or abnormal number" for this time of year, he emphasised. When looking at the figures for acute respiratory infections, these levels are to be expected for this time of year. "While the analysis is not showing an abnormal percentage of sick people, we should not underestimate how many people that actually amounts to."
Bad timing
While the winter months are usually a period marked by illness, Van Gucht pointed out that since the pandemic the SARS-CoV-2 virus has now also been added into the mix, coming on top of the usual cases of colds and flu.
The newest Covid variant, JN.1, was mostly to blame for the high number of infections in recent weeks. "It is not just that it emerged at all, but also that it only broke through in the winter months: a time when people spend more time indoors because of the cold weather – which of course facilitates the spread of the virus."
After peaking during the Christmas holidays, the number of Covid cases is now slightly falling. However, the number of flu cases has been rising strongly since the last two weeks of 2023 and is only expected to peak in late January. "Now we are stuck with rising flu infections as well as Covid values that – even though they are dropping – are still high."
Added into the mix is RSV, a common respiratory virus that usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms. It mainly affects children but can impact adults as well. "RSV hit hard in November and early December, but the number of cases has also dropped considerably."
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On top of those viruses, the presence of the mycoplasma bacteria is also exceptionally high in Belgium this year. The bacteria causes lung infections (mainly in children), which also leads to coughing and other cold-like symptoms. "Normally, every few years, there is one in which we see extra high mycoplasma activity. So in that sense, these values are not exceptional either. Still, it is making even more people sick."
The end-of-year festivities, in which many (groups of) people have gathered, are also having an effect. "Now, after the viruses have had a good chance to spread, everyone goes back to work or school, where they meet other people again – all things that contribute to the spread."
Due to Belgium's climate, the outbreaks of these viruses and bacteria are all quite concentrated around the winter period. "The season for respiratory infections usually starts in November and can continue until April/May before things really start to turn around."
