Infection protection physician Stephan Stenmark says that one of the ways you notice the incidence of winter malaise is increasing is how many sick people have applied to hospitals.

- If it is very stomach ache, it usually spills over to the hospitals and this week we have noticed more cases in the hospitals than in previous weeks, especially in Umeå.

The spread of infection increases after Christmas

When it comes to the searches on the 1177 Care Guide, there is no dramatic increase this week. But the season is underway and after Christmas and New Year, the cases, both of winter sickness and of flu, tend to increase.

- Most people think that the risk of infection increases during Christmas and New Year when you meet a lot of relatives and friends, but it is rather that the spread of infection goes down then. Instead, it starts when people are back in schools, jobs and preschools, says Stephan Stenmark.