No flu wave 2020 thanks to Covid-19 measures?
Measures against Covid-19 such as the mandatory use of a mouth and nose protection (MNS) and social distancing seem to prevent the flu wave of 2020.
According to a study by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which was published in the journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR), the flu epidemic will infect significantly fewer people worldwide in 2020 or will even not occur at all. According to the scientists, this is due to measures such as social distancing and wearing mouth and nose protection (MNS) in public spaces, which have been made mandatory in many countries due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Data from countries in the southern hemisphere such as Argentina, Australia and South Africa, where the flu season has already started, show significantly fewer infections than in previous years. For example, from April to July only 33 people tested positive for influenza in Australia. The World Health Organization (WHO) also records practically no flu infections in the southern hemisphere.
Low in influenza cases
According to the CDC, influenza cases are also at an all-time low in the USA. According to a statement by the Influenza Working Group of the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), a reliable assessment is not yet possible for Germany due to the small sample size. The elimination of mass events and the other Covid-19 protective measures should also significantly reduce influenza cases in Germany.
Influenza promotes SARS-CoV-2 spread
According to experts, this side effect of the Covid-19 measures is more than positive news for two reasons. The flu itself causes thousands of deaths each year in Germany, especially among senior citizens and people with previous illnesses, which should not occur this year. In addition, according to a publication by the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology (MPIIB) published on the preprint server medRxiv, a strong flu wave would have doubled new infections with SARS-CoV-2.
The effects of the COVID 19 measures on other respiratory diseases are unfortunately only minimal, according to the RKI 's monthly influenza report. In the past two weeks, respiratory infections have increased significantly in Germany. According to the sentinel monitoring of the RKI, this is primarily due to rhinoviruses, which, like influenza, occur annually in waves and are mainly spread by smear infection.