Flu Activity Edges Up in Latvia but Remains Low
Latvia's Centre for Disease Prevention and Control reports flu incidence rose to 9.2 cases per 100,000 residents last week. The first flu-related death of the season has also been recorded.
Flu activity in Latvia rose slightly last week but remains at a low level, according to monitoring data from the Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, the national public health agency. The figures matter to residents because they show how widespread respiratory infections are in the new flu season.
Flu indicators
Flu incidence reached 9.2 cases per 100,000 residents, 15% more than a week earlier, when eight cases per 100,000 were recorded. Flu was diagnosed in seven patients, compared with six the week before. Six of them were aged 15 to 64 and one was at least 65 years old. No flu was detected in children up to 14 years old.
The National Microbiology Reference Laboratory at Riga East Clinical University Hospital confirmed five cases of influenza A virus. The share of flu-positive samples was 2.5%, down from 4% a week earlier. In hospitals, flu was confirmed in 1% of patients tested for severe acute respiratory infection.
No deaths among flu or Covid-19 patients were registered last week. However, the preliminary data for this week show the first death of a flu patient this season. In total, the season has seen one death of a flu patient and two deaths of patients diagnosed with Covid-19.
Other respiratory infections
A total of 758 patients visited family doctors with symptoms of other acute respiratory infections, compared with 997 the previous week. Incidence fell by 25.6%, from 1,333.7 to 992.3 cases per 100,000 residents, and was lower than at the same point last season. Rates declined in all age groups, but remained highest among children up to four years old, at 5,775.6 cases per 100,000 people in that age group.
Six patients sought outpatient care for pneumonia, compared with 20 a week earlier. Incidence dropped from 26.8 to eight cases per 100,000 residents.
At the ten hospitals included in the monitoring, in Riga and other regions of Latvia, 165 patients were admitted with severe acute respiratory infections. Their share of all admitted patients rose from 3.2% to 3.8%, and 82 of them were at least 65 years old.
