Influenza patients increase 13.7 times in one month... highest number in 8 years = South Korea

In South Korea, the number of influenza patients has increased 13.7 times in one month, and the trend of spreading the virus at an alarming rate continues.
"With temperatures dropping significantly and influenza pandemics gearing up for the usual surge, there are growing concerns about the simultaneous outbreak of various respiratory infections," he said at the meeting.
According to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in the first week of this year, 9 out of 1,000 outpatients who visited sample monitoring medical institutions showed symptoms of influenza.
The number of infected people increased by 1.4 times from 73.9 people a week ago to 9.8 people. The number of infected people had already reached a new high of 8 years since 2016 (86.2 people) last week, but the number of infected people has increased further.
The number of institutions participating in the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's respiratory infection specimen surveillance system has increased from less than 100 to more than 200, so the current influenza epidemic surveillance system has been established at the current level.
The disease is spreading at a faster rate. Only a few cases have reached the seasonal epidemic standard (8.6 cases per 1,000 people) and an epidemic warning has been issued.
The number of cases increased 13.7 times in four weeks from 7.3 cases in the 49th week of last year, 20 days ago on December 20th. The number of cases increased in all age groups, with 13-18 years old at 1 per 1,000.
The epidemic is being driven by children and adolescents, with 77.4 cases in the 7-12 age group and 161.6 cases in the 7-12 age group. The number of patients hospitalized with influenza is also increasing, with the number dropping from 795 (based on sample medical institutions) at the beginning of last year to 1
The number of infected people has increased by 1.8 times to 452. This trend is likely due to the fact that influenza is not prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic and there are many people in the community who do not have antibodies.
The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention explained that the impact was due to the fact that the COVID-19 virus infection has subsided and influenza has been prevalent for 22 months since September 2022.
In addition, the temperature was higher than usual from October last year until the end of the year, but it has recently dropped sharply.
The fact that the A(H3N2) virus is also circulating at the same time was also analyzed as a factor in the sudden increase in patients. Director-General Ji said, "In the past, the trend of winter influenza epidemics has been that they peaked just before the winter holidays and then started to slow down when the holidays began.
Considering that the number of cases has been gradually decreasing since January, the peak of the epidemic will likely come in the next week or two.
He also urged people to get the flu vaccine, while emphasizing the importance of following preventive rules such as washing hands, coughing etiquette, and proper ventilation.