Flu, cold – illustrative photo.
Prague – According to the State Institute of Health (SZÚ), acute respiratory infections in the Czech Republic continue to increase, most of which are the flu. Last week, there were 1,412 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, i.e. 3.6 percent more than in the previous week. The institute announced this in a press release today. Jan Kynčl, head of the department of epidemiology of infectious diseases at the SZÚ, expects that the infections will continue to spread for several more weeks. According to data from the Ministry of Health, positive tests for covid-19 continue to increase.
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“The fact that the period of increased morbidity from respiratory infections lasts relatively long this year can be attributed to the previous two pandemic years with a number of hygiene measures. Now the population is gradually dying again,” said Kynčl. He expects the flu to continue to spread for several more weeks and gradually decline as spring progresses.
The most sick people per population are in the Pardubice and South Moravian Regions, from age groups the number of patients is increasing not only among children under five years of age.
Doctors record influenza, RS viruses, rhinoviruses causing colds and other infections including the coronavirus among acute respiratory infections causing covid-19. Influenza cases reported by hygiene stations increased by more than 12 percent between weeks. Experts attribute the current increase in morbidity to the fact that the second type of flu has started to spread.
“The current occurrence of type B influenza can be viewed as a so-called second wave of influenza, which usually comes once every few years in the wake of a normal flu epidemic. Sometimes it continues with a gap, sometimes it goes right into it, which corresponds to this year's situation,” Kynčl added.
Since the beginning of the flu season last year, 287 patients with a severe course of the flu have been reported and hospitalized in intensive care units. One hundred of them succumbed to the infection.
Development of the epidemic of acute respiratory infections in the Czech Republic:
| Week | Number of reported cases per 100,000 inhabitants | Change (%) | Positive tests for covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants per week (diag. test positivity) | Change ( %) |
| 8. week 2023 | 1412 | + 3.6% | 64.8 (26.7%) | + 21.1% |
| 7. week 2023 | 1363 | + 4.3% | 53.5 (24.5%) | + 48.2% |
| 6. week 2023 | 1307 | – 3.1% | 36.1 (20.1%) | + 42.7% |
| 5. week 2023 | 1349 | – 0.15% | 25.3 (14.9%) | + 38.6% |
| 4. week 2023 | 1351 | – 4.7% | 18.3 (11.7%) | + 7.6% |
| 3. week 2023 | 1417 | – 12.1% | 17 (10.7%) | – 5.6% |
| 2. week 2023 | 1611 | – 17.6% | 18 (9.2%) | – 32.6% |
| 1. week 2023 | 1956 | + 10.5% | 26.7 (9.4%) | – 34.9% |
| 52. week 2022 | 1770 | – 26.3% | 41 (13.9%) | – 19.8% |
| 51. week 2022 | 2403 | + 3% | 51.1 (16.4%) | – 10.7% |
| 50. week 2022 | 2334 | + 33.1% | 57.2 (18.7%) | + 8.7% |
| 49. week 2022 | 1754 | 52.6 (19.6%) |
Source: State Health Institute + MZd – covid-19 data
