The rate of acute respiratory infections (ARIs), which includes flu, COVID-19, bronchitis and bronchiolitis, stands at 327.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the Balearics, according to the report by the Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance System (SiVIRA), published by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII). This data corresponds to the week of 17 to 23 November and is higher than that recorded the previous week, which was 319.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
In the Balearics, the hospitalisation rate for severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) stands at 10.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, down from 16.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants the previous week.
Nationally, influenza has exceeded the epidemic threshold for the first time this year, registering 40.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the week from 17 to 23 November, an increase of 13.9 per cent compared to the previous week.
The data, corresponding to week 47 of the year, show a continuous rise in the flu curve over the last three weeks. In addition, the flu syndrome rate is higher than in the last two seasons at the same time, which recorded 14.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 2024 and 21.3 cases in 2023.
Taking into account the incidence rates by age group, the report highlights that the most affected are children between the ages of one and four, where the rate is 110 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, almost double that of the previous week, when the figure was 57.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
After this, children and young people between the ages of five and 19 recorded 78.6 cases.
Overall, the rate of acute respiratory infections (ARIs), which includes influenza, Covid-19, bronchitis and bronchiolitis, stands at 519.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 482.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the previous week. ARIs also exceed the epidemic threshold, with a ‘low’ transmission intensity.
The Covid-19 rate is 3.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, having fallen slightly from 3.7 cases in the previous week. In the case of bronchitis and bronchiolitis in children under five, the rate has increased by 13 per cent in one week and stands at 314.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. As for the percentage of positivity for each of the viruses, in the week analysed it is 21.6 per cent for influenza (16.7 per cent in the previous week), 0.8 per cent for SARS-CoV-2 (2.2 per cent in the previous week) and 3.9 per cent for RSV (2.4 per cent in the previous week).
Meanwhile, the hospitalisation rate for severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) stands at 12.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, slightly lower than the 13.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the previous week. The positivity rate is 19.6 per cent for influenza (19.3 per cent in the previous week), 4.9 per cent for SARS-CoV-2 (3.4 per cent in the previous week) and 6.4 per cent for RSV (4 per cent in the previous week).
The hospitalisation rate for influenza is estimated at 2.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, practically the same as the previous week, which was 2.6 cases. In terms of severity, since the start of the season, hospitalised flu cases have shown a 23.3 per cent rate of pneumonia, a four per cent rate of admission to intensive care units (ICUs) and a 5.9 per cent fatality rate.
For Covid-19, the hospitalisation rate is 0.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, compared to 0.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the previous week. In terms of severity, since the start of the season, hospitalised cases of Covid-19 have resulted in 23 per cent pneumonia, 2.6 per cent admission to the ICU and a 10.2 per cent fatality rate.
The hospitalisation rate for RSV is estimated at 0.8 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, an increase compared to 0.5 cases last week. In terms of severity, since the start of the season this week, hospitalised cases of RSV present 10.3 per cent pneumonia, 11.3 per cent ICU admission and no fatalities. Finally, the report reflects, according to MoMo model estimates, that in week 47 there were 8,905 deaths in Spain, while 8,632 were expected.