Numerous individuals encounter illnesses like common colds, coronaviruses, and rhinoviruses.
At present, there's a significant surge in respiratory illnesses compared to previous years during this time. The Robert Koch Institute (RKI) has recorded an unprecedented high, marking the highest incidence since these reports were first tracked.
As per the weekly report from the RKI, using data obtained from the "GrippeWeb" online portal, an estimated 8,800 respiratory illnesses per 100,000 residents were reported last week, equivalent to approximately 7.4 million individuals in the entire population.
For calendar week 41, spanning from October 7 to 13, this is the highest incidence recorded since the beginning of such surveys in 2011. In the same week last year, the RKI reported around 7,000 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, amounting to 5.8 million people across the entire population. The highest incidence recorded during calendar week 41 up until now was in 2011, with over 7,800 cases.
The number of doctor's visits also suggests a high occurrence of illness. Based on the RKI's report, there were around 1,900 visits per 100,000 residents for respiratory illnesses last week, although this figure is slightly inaccurate due to the fall holidays in certain federal states.
Most of the illnesses, as diagnosed by doctor's practices through samples, were linked to common cold viruses, namely rhinoviruses (30%) and coronaviruses (22%). The RKI explained that the dominant subtypes among coronaviruses were KP.3.1.1 (41%) and XEC (27%), both originating from JN.1. No significant changes have been observed in the coronavirus shares recently. Since calendar week 38, coronavirus traces have been more noticeable in wastewater.
Regrettably, influenza A and B viruses, responsible for the flu, were not detected last week. According to the RKI, the flu season was officially declared to have begun in calendar week 50, which corresponds to mid-December, last year.
The Robert Koch Institute (RKI), being a renowned institute for disease control and prevention in Germany, has been at the forefront of tracking respiratory illnesses. This surge in respiratory illnesses, as reported by the RKI, is the highest recorded since they began tracking such incidents in 2011.
