AMSTERDAM - The number of flu cases has risen to its highest point in the last few years. Last week, 118 out of every 100,000 people reported to a GP with flu symptoms, the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and the research institute Nivel reported. 

A week earlier, there were 76 flu patients per 100,000 people at the GP, and the number was 58 the week before that. The numbers have doubled in two weeks. The RIVM has been sharing the numbers since 2020, and this is the first time that the figure exceeds 100. 

The Netherlands has been dealing with an official flu epidemic since last week. The number of flu cases was above the limit for the second week in a row. There was also an official flu epidemic last year, but it came nowhere near this year’s levels. 

Most people who have been infected with the flu do not visit their general practitioner, but there is always a minority of very vulnerable people who do. Therefore, these numbers give a good indication of the spread of the flu viruses. 

Flu like symptoms can also be caused by other sicknesses. Samples are taken from the nose and the throat to be sure that the symptoms have come from the flu. Most of these tests usually show that the reasons for the sickness is the flu.