Rising Flu Cases: Is ‘Superflu’ Coming to the Netherlands?
- Flu cases reported to Dutch doctors are rising again, a typical trend for this time of year but potentially signaling the start of a flu epidemic.
- The flu season in the Netherlands usually peaks in January and February.
- Ted van Essen, a flu expert and chairman of the Dutch Immunization Society, told Hart van Nederland that we are now at the beginning of another potential epidemic.
Flu cases reported to Dutch doctors are rising again, a typical trend for this time of year but potentially signaling the start of a flu epidemic. england and Belgium are already battling a ”super flu”-an exceptionally virulent strain spreading rapidly. Shoudl the Netherlands be concerned?
The flu season in the Netherlands usually peaks in January and February. Numbers saw a sudden increase just before Christmas,raising fears of an early epidemic,but those figures later declined. Now, cases are climbing again as the beginning of the year.
Ted van Essen, a flu expert and chairman of the Dutch Immunization Society, told Hart van Nederland that we are now at the beginning of another potential epidemic. “This is especially visible in the numbers of people visiting doctors with flu and respiratory symptoms,” he said. The RIVM (National institute for Public Health and the Environment) is closely monitoring the increase.