Netherlands braces for flu epidemic

The Dutch National Influenza Center (NIC) in Rotterdam announced Tuesday that the number of people suffering from flu went up again this week, bringing the situation closer to a national flu epidemic, Dutch news agency ANP reported.

Surveys by the Netherlands Institute for Health Services Research (NIVEL) showed last week that the Netherlands was on the brink of an official flu epidemic, with an average of 51 in 10,000 people reporting to the doctor with flu symptoms.

A flu epidemic is declared if the number of flu victims reaches 60 in 10,000. NIVEL will announce updated figures for this week Wednesday.

Virologist Ab Osterhaus of the NIC said Tuesday that the most common strain of flu at the moment is the H3N1 variant. This year's flu vaccine was designed to counter this strain, he said.

A spokesperson for the NIVEL flu survey said Tuesday that internet surveys last week showed that the number of flu cases had already reached epidemic levels in the eastern and western regions of the Netherlands.

Source: Xinhua