No influenza cases recorded in Estonia this week
No new influenza cases were registered in Estonia in week three of 2021. So far, three cases have been diagnosed in Estonia season and two people have been hospitalized.
Between January 18-24, a total of 2,824 people sought medical aid due to acute viral upper respiratory tract infections, of whom almost 23 percent were children. The highest number of cases were registered in Tallinn, Narva, Tartu County, and Pärnu County.
The situation across Europe
According to the European Influenza Surveillance Network and the WHO, the intensity of the spread of influenza remains low within the European Union, as well as elsewhere in the world.
The various hygiene and social distancing measures that have been implemented in order to prevent the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus have probably also had a role in preventing the spread of the influenza virus.
Influenza is caused by viruses from the Orthomyxoviridae family, and primarily by the influenza A, B, and C viruses. Influenza A viruses have the highest pandemic potential. The symptoms of the disease include rapidly increasing fever, headache, dry cough, and/or head cold, tiredness and weakness, and muscular and joint pain. Influenza may cause serious complications, such as pneumonia or an intensifying of chronic pulmonary or cardiovascular diseases.
Influenza is an acute viral disease that spreads in the form of outbreaks; as an epidemic or a pandemic. The disease affects mainly children, but most hospitalization cases and deaths involve the elderly, as well as those individuals who suffer from chronic diseases.
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Editor: Helen Wright