The number of influenza cases in Belgium rose sharply in the second week of January, according to the latest weekly report by the Sciensano health institute.
About 77,000 Belgians visited their general practitioners with flu-like symptoms during the week, and 6 out of 10 GPs reported experiencing high to very high work pressure, a significant increase from the first week of the year.
The incidence of doctor’s visits for such symptoms reached 654 consultations per 100,000 residents. This was close to the peak levels of previous years.
In a population of over 11.7 million, this translated to approximately 77,000 GP visits.
Consultation rooms are busy, with nearly 60% of GPs experiencing high to very high workloads due to respiratory infections.
The number of positive flu tests in laboratories continues to rise, suggesting that the peak is near.
Cases in residential care centres rose to 23 per 1,000 residents in the second week of January. Of these, 2.3 per 1,000 needed hospitalisation.
Hospitalisations for severe acute respiratory infections topped 1,600 – 14.3 per 100,000 residents – in the first week of January. Many of these admissions were due to flu.
Other respiratory viruses, such as RSV, showed a declining trend, although their numbers remained high.
The Coronavirus is currently circulating at a low level in Belgium, with a positivity rate of 2.7% of tested cases - lower than the previous week.
Belgium is now under code orange for infectious diseases.
The colour-coded system was introduced permanently following the Coronavirus pandemic.
Under code orange, people with symptoms are advised to wear face masks in crowded places.
