The number of acute respiratory infection cases - clinical flu, acute upper respiratory tract infections and pneumonia - in Romania for the week January 16-22 is standing at 103,210, down 25.9% from the previous week, the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) reported on Thursday.
The extra variation as against an average of 84,953 cases in the same weeks of five pre-pandemic seasons (2015-2019) was 21.5%. The maximum number of weekly cases in the last epidemic season (2019-2020) was 171,081 cases in the week of January 27 - February 2, 2020, according to INSP.
Between January 16 and 22, 4,553 cases of clinical flu were reported nationwide as against 5,082 cases in the previous week, told Agerpres.
The geographical spread is said to be extensive, with most of the clinical flu cases being reported in Bucharest (1,039) and in the counties of Iasi (381), Cluj (332), Timis (238), Galati (212), Buzau (185) and Maramures (165).
In the same period, 426 laboratory-confirmed cases of influenza were reported (35 of the AH3 virus, 110 of the AH1 virus, 274 of the influenza A virus and 7 of the influenza B virus).
According to INSP, 36 confirmed influenza deaths were reported, including 22 from the influenza virus A (H1) (including one with SARS-CoV-2 and RSV co-infection), five from influenza virus A (H3) (including one with SARS-CoV-2co-infection), eight from influenza virus A, non-subtyped (including three with SARS-CoV-2 co-infection).
As of January 15, 2023, 1,454,884 people in Romania from at-risk groups were vaccinated against influenza using serum distributed by the Ministry of Health.