The flu epidemic in the Czech Republic is ongoing and the number of people suffering from acute respiratory diseases increased by 10.5% in the first week of January. For every 100,000 people, there were 1,956 recorded cases. The overall morbidity rate for influenza decreased slightly by 3.5%. The highest morbidity rates were reported in the Vysočina, South Moravia, Moravia-Silesia, Pardubice, Olomouc, South Bohemia, and Zlín regions. The flu is mainly type A, which is targeted by vaccines. There have been 136 recorded cases of influenza with a severe course, of which 35 ended in the patient’s death.

The head of the Infectious Diseases Department of the National Health Institute warned that the actual morbidity rate may be higher as some people may not have sought medical attention at the end of the holiday period and therefore were not included in the statistics.

Article by Prague Forum