This year’s flu season is the worst since the corona pandemic according to figures published in the weekly respiratory ailments report released by the Belgian health institute Sciensano. Elke Wollants, biologist at Leuven University's Rega Institute confirms the news.
The number of GP consultations for flu-like symptoms stands at 1,199 per 100,000 inhabitants, which is slightly lower than last week (1,219), but according to Sciensano, the data are not yet complete. The health institute describes the figures as ‘particularly high’. The peak also seems to be much higher than that of the previous flu season.
Pressure on GPs
By comparison, at the peak of the last flu season, the number of consultations was around 600 per 100,000 population, about half the current number. This also puts pressure on GPs. More than eight in 10 GPs (85 per cent) say their workload due to consultations for respiratory infections is high or very high. That percentage has also been rising for several weeks now.
Sciensano also sees this year’s high spike mirrored in the number of hospital admissions. The number now stands at 6.6 weekly hospital admissions per 100,000 population. This is a slight decrease compared to last week, but again the data are incomplete.
‘Identifying a cause is always difficult, but hardly any people have corona infections at the moment,’ Wollants continues. ‘We saw a corona peak in the summer of 2024, and now we see almost nothing. People are always sick around this time of year, whether it's flu or corona.’