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Berlin (dpa / bb) - According to reporting data, the 2020/21 flu season practically failed in Berlin.
In the metropolis of millions, only twelve proven cases of influenza have been recorded since the beginning of October, according to an online database of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) (as of April 19).
The value recorded for Berlin this winter is the lowest in the RKI statistics, which go back to 2000/01.
In the other federal states, too, the values for this season are only in double digits, in the case of Saarland even single digits with seven cases.
According to the RKI statistics, the influenza virus is usually detected in several thousand Berliners over the winter months.
In the 2019/20 season, which already subsided with the first corona lockdown, there were still more than 5800 recorded cases.
More than 11,400 patients with confirmed influenza infection were responsible for the severe flu wave of 2017/18.
However, the number of unreported cases is very high for the flu.
Worldwide, "an unusually low level of influenza activity is reported, which is well below the results of previous years," writes the Influenza Working Group in its report last week.
"The circulation of influenza viruses will stagnate in the 2020/21 season at an extremely low level," write the RKI experts.
The flu season officially runs until mid-May.
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Experts suspect that the corona measures have also had an effect on other pathogens that are spread via the same or similar infection routes.
There are also other influencing factors due to the pandemic: Interest in the flu vaccination in autumn was greater than usual.
Influenza surveillance may also have been impaired to some extent by the fact that more sick people avoided visiting the doctor or the focus of testing strategies changed.
© dpa-infocom, dpa: 210420-99-271444 / 2
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