Influenza is a contagious respiratory illness caused by influenza viruses that infect the nose, throat, and sometimes the lungs. It can cause mild to severe illness, and at times can lead to death. The best way to prevent flu is by getting a flu vaccine each year.
This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 6-12 February 2022, and includes updates on COVID-19, Influenza, Lassa fever, mass gathering monitoring for the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing, Chikungunya, and dengue.
This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 30 January-5 February 2022 and includes updates on COVID-19, swine influenza, seasonal influenza, MERS-CoV and mass gathering monitoring for the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 23-29 January 2022 and includes updates on COVID-19, Influenza, the Omicron variant, poliomyelitis and mass gathering monitoring for the Winter Olympic Games in Beijing.
In the week commencing 13 December, the number of flu cases (caused by the influenza virus) detected in the WHO European Region was above what we would normally expect to find in the population for the second week in a row, which indicates the so-called flu season epidemic has started.
The Flu Awareness Campaign is marked across the WHO European Region every year in October. It aims to raise awareness of the importance of vaccination for people’s health and well-being and to increase the uptake of seasonal influenza vaccination of people with underlying risk factors.
Although the overall number of influenza detections in the majority of EU/EEA countries is still low, indications show that influenza circulation is above the seasonal threshold in Croatia, which is unusually early. The main reported subtype among the cases recorded in EU/EEA during the past month is A(H3N2), which disproportionally affects older people, and is associated with lower vaccine effectiveness. This is a sign that the upcoming influenza season could be severe for elderly people, and that influenza patterns may vary between countries in terms of timing.