Subscribe to our newsletter to stay up to date
The flu curve continues to grow in Italy, earlier than in previous years and with a much higher incidence level than in previous seasons, comparable only to that of the 2009-2010 season, the year of the so-called “swine”. This is the picture that emerged from the latest updated bulletin “InfluNet”, the Integrated Surveillance System of Influenza managed weekly by the Istituto Superiore di Sanità (ISS), which highlights how in the week from 21 to 27 November the estimated cases of similar syndrome influenza, compared to the entire Italian population, have been around 762 thousand, for a total of over 2.5 million since the beginning of surveillance. Quota that last year was reached at the beginning of January.
Bulletin data
deepening
Influenza, the Australian arrived in Italy: what to know
Specifically, the incidence during the 47th week of 2022 stood at 12.91 cases per thousand assisted. Children under the age of 5 continue to be particularly affected, with an incidence of 40.8 cases per thousand assisted (29.6 in the previous week). Given that it drops to 25.02 in the 5-14 age range, to 10.10 between 15 and 64 years of age and to 5.04 cases per thousand assisted over 65s.
The ISS also underlines that there are six Regions in which the season has already reached an intensity considered high or very high. These are Emilia Romagna (20.24 cases per thousand), Umbria (19.61), Lombardy (17.80), Veneto (16.43), the Autonomous Province of Bolzano (16.09) and Marche (15.58 ). Three Regions (Campania, Calabria, Sardinia) have not activated InfluNet surveillance.
The circulation of influenza viruses intensifies
The report showed that last week the circulation of flu viruses also intensified: of the 717 samples analyzed by the laboratories belonging to the InfluNet network, 275 (38.3%) were positive for the flu virus. All but one are type A, especially A/H3N2. Instead, only 4% of the sample tested positive for Sars-Cov-2.