Although the population was largely spared from influenza in 2021, GPs have announced a recent spike in flu cases this spring.
The flu season usually runs from December to February, with patients experiencing a series of symptoms for up to a week including headaches, joint pain, fatigue and high fever.
Dr David Heck of the "Cercle des médecins généralistes" said it was unusual to be seeing cases of seasonal flu at the end of March, or heading into April. He said it was most likely displaced due to coronavirus safety measures.
Dr Serge Allard, president of Luxembourg's paediatric association, agreed with Dr Heck's assessment. He added that mandatory mask measures had been lifted in schools, but that in his view, the current Omicron coronavirus variant was less severe than seasonal flu, causing more complications for children.
According to GPs, elderly people are currently less affected by the flu - many are vaccinated against influenza and therefore protected. Dr Heck explained that vulnerable people could risk developing lung infections following a bout of flu, as well as more serious illness. However he said it could not be compared to coronavirus.
Some weeks ago Luxembourg received deliveries of coronavirus medications including Lagevrio and Paxlovid. GPs are currently prescribing these for rare cases only, indicating the treatments were to be used sparingly and only for vulnerable people or the over-65s.
Dr Heck said the low number of prescriptions could also be ascribed to the relatively high vaccine rate among the vulnerable and elderly categories in Luxembourg, as people who were not vaccinated were more likely to become seriously ill following a Covid infection.
Flu however can generally be treated with over-the-counter medications such as paracetamol for high fever. However, in the event the patient develops a severe or painful cough, they should seek advice from a GP as it could develop into bronchitis or a lung infection.
Report in Luxembourgish.
