INCIDENCE OF THE FLU

Epidemiology / frequency distribution

You can get flu in the northern and southern hemispheres, the causative agents of influenza flu only occur in the local winter. Around 500 million people worldwide get the flu every year.

Between 2001 and 2009, up to 1677 diseases were detected in Germany every year. However, these are only the reported cases, the number of unreported cases is many times higher. It is therefore just as difficult to estimate the number of fatalities; a distinction is made between proven and non-proven cases (from 1998 to 2007 up to 330 annually).

Influenza virus type A infections are the most common and the most severe, and influenza type B flu is the second most common and usually milder. Infections with the influenza virus type C are very rare.

Read more on this topic: Summer flu

The type A influenza virus is very contagious and can cause epidemics, which occurs approximately every one to three years. An epidemic is when 10-20% of the population in a certain area and a certain period of time are sick. If the disease spreads across countries or even continents, it is a pandemic, which occurs approximately every 10 to 15 years with the flu caused by the type A influenza virus. The type B influenza virus, on the other hand, only causes local influenza outbreaks.

Modern rapid flu tests are able to detect influenza types A and B.
Read more about this under: Rapid flu test

The elderly, pregnant women, young children and especially infants are most at risk. This group of people is more susceptible to complications from the flu and therefore also more likely to die than others.

People with previous diseases of the heart, lungs and immune system are also at risk.

Basically, however, all age groups are at risk of catching the flu.