The RKI reports significantly fewer infectious diseases for 2020 than in previous years.
Corona measures were probably a major factor.
In 2020,
significantly fewer people fell ill with
infectious diseases
.
The
Corona
* measures apparently played a major role.
Around
35 percent
fewer
Germans
fell ill with the
flu
last year
.
Kassel - The whole world has been dealing with the
corona virus
for almost a year
.
In order to contain the pandemic, regulations such as contact
restrictions
and the
mask requirement
have already been
enacted.
It seems that the
Corona measures are
also
bearing
fruit in the prevention of other diseases, because as studies now show,
Germans were
less sick than usual in the past year.
Scientists have now been able to draw initial conclusions from 2020.
It is now clear: only one
disease
exceeds the values of recent years.
In
Germany
, for example, around 35 percent fewer people
fell ill with
the
flu
than in previous years.
+
According to the RKI, there were significantly fewer infectious diseases in Germany in 2020 than in previous years.
Around 35 percent fewer flu cases were reported.
The reason for this are the strict corona rules.
(Symbol image)
© Maurizio Gambarini / dpa
Corona: RKI examines notifiable diseases and discovers fewer flu cases
"The
number
of
cases
of many other infectious diseases fell during the
Covid-19 pandemic
compared to previous years", Sonia Boender from the Surveillance Department at the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) told
Focus Online
.
In order to examine the possible effects of the pandemic, the RKI experts carry out an analysis of notifiable diseases, such as
tuberculosis
, hepatitis E or the
flu
.
According to this, almost 140,000 such non-
corona
cases were reported
between March and August 2020
.
Based on the values from previous years, a
decrease
of around 35 percent was recorded.
Fewer flu cases also thanks to Corona measures
According to the analysis,
respiratory
and
gastrointestinal diseases
declined particularly sharply.
Sexually transmitted infections, on the other hand, fell less sharply.
However, according to the researchers, there is no specific reason for the decline in the numbers.
Rather, this depends on several factors and cannot be explained by data analysis alone.
According to Boender, however, it is certain that the measures to contain the
corona pandemic have had
an impact.
Closures
, distance
rules
,
contact
restrictions
, hand hygiene and working in the
home office
in particular prevented the transmission of pathogens, which is evident in fewer
flu
cases and respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases.
First corona lockdown thwarted a possible wave of flu infections
In addition, according to expert Sonia Boender, it is also noticeable that
Germans
were able to travel far less far
in 2020 due to the
coronavirus
pandemic.
As a result, diseases such as dengue fever and
malaria
have been observed, which are otherwise
diagnosed
more frequently among
travelers returning
.
It had already been shown in spring 2020 that the first
corona lockdown of
a possible
wave of flu infections brought
an early end to an end.
According to data available so far
,
colds
and
influenza also
occurred less frequently
in autumn and winter 2020
than in previous years.
(Almost) only Covid?
After the first lockdown in the corona pandemic, significantly fewer cases of other infectious diseases have been reported.
Why is that? Https: //t.co/56YK8BSdZy @idowa
- dpa (@dpa) January 11, 2021
Corona in Germany: flu infections are falling, TBE sufferers are increasing
But not every
illness
is the same as with the
flu
: the analysis by the
Robert Koch Institute
shows an increase in one of the diseases examined: the
meningitis TBE
(early summer meningoencephalitis), which is transmitted by ticks.
In fact, the
corona
pandemic
could also be responsible for the increase
, as it has lured many people into the countryside to avoid larger crowds.
The
Red Cross
also warned
that there were more
ticks
due to the mild winter
and that the season had already started in March 2020.
(Nail Akkoyun)
* hna.de is part of the nationwide Ippen-Digital editorial network.
List of rubric lists: © Maurizio Gambarini / dpa