Sardinia, the Italian region hardest hit by the flu

In the last monitored week, from December 16 to 22, the number of cases of flu-like syndrome in Italy continues to rise, albeit slowly. The incidence at the national level is 10.1 cases per thousand patients (it was 9.7 in the previous 7 days). The latest ‘RespiVirNet’ Surveillance Bulletin, recently published by the Italian National Institute of Health, reports approximately 597,000 cases of diseases caused by seasonal viruses in the last 7 considered days, for an estimated total of 4,573,000 cases since the beginning of epidemiological surveillance. The most affected are children under 5 years of age, with an incidence of 28.3 cases per thousand assisted (there were 23.3 in the previous week). The second most affected age group is children and young people aged 5 to 14 (incidence equal to 11.42), followed by 15-64 year olds (9.97) and the over 65s (5.92 cases per thousand assisted). The most affected regions are Sardinia (17.74 cases per thousand patients), Campania (16.23), Liguria (14.09), Marche (11.72), Abruzzo (11.58), Lazio (11.05), and Lombardy (10.51).