News of: Wednesday, February 23 2005,

Flu epidemic spreads into direction of Amsterdam

The flu epidemic is spreading in the Netherlands. It is now on a level of 27 cases per 10,000 inhabitants (going up from 15 cases, a week earlier).

Worst hit are the provinces in the South of the Netherlands, but the flu is spreading into Northern direction.
At the moment, the area around Amsterdam is least hit (19 cases per 10,000 inhabitants), the provinces in the South have 67 cases per 10,000.

According to the National Influenza Center, children below 4 are often ill, but the incidences among the age classes 45-64 and 65+ are approaching that of the young.

In reality the incidence of influenza is probably higher, as most people don't report to a doctor.