Millions of acute respiratory diseases
Many people in Germany are still plagued by colds and respiratory illnesses. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) is reporting high numbers of such infections, as it has done recently. For example, the experts estimate that there were around 6.8 million acute respiratory illnesses in the population in the previous week, regardless of whether the patient had seen a doctor or not. In its report, the RKI also records an increasing number of corona cases and sees signs of an increasing spread of RSV (respiratory syncytial virus).
According to the RKI report, the number of laboratory-confirmed and reported corona infections last week was around 21,800 (previous week: 18,900) and more than 95,500 in total since the beginning of October. However, this is only a small part of what is actually happening. In hospitals, however, this has so far been reflected to a lesser extent than during the pandemic. Compared to the same period last year, the number of severe respiratory illnesses caused by Sars-CoV-2 "remains proportionally lower", it said.
The RKI reports on RSV from the random monitoring of severe acute respiratory infections at hospitals: A significant increase in RSV diagnoses in infants in the past two weeks could also be due to increased testing following the introduction of a nationwide RSV reporting requirement. The rate of RSV-positive samples in virological monitoring is still low.
According to the RKI, RSV is one of the most important pathogens causing respiratory infections in infants, especially premature babies and young children. After the peak phase of the corona pandemic, there were strong catch-up effects with many young people affected. Experts expect the situation to return to normal this autumn and winter.
The ongoing high numbers of acute respiratory diseases in Germany, as reported by the Robert Koch Institute, include various illnesses like colds and coronaviruses like Covid-19. The rise in corona cases, specifically Covid-19, is a concern for health authorities, with around 21,800 confirmed infections last week alone.
The science of epidemiology and virology is crucial in understanding and combating the spread of diseases like RSV and Covid-19, which continue to pose health challenges globally, including Germany.
Source: www.dpa.com
