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Flu causes mortality peak in Switzerland at start of 2015

Xinhua, May 12, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO) revealed Monday that 2,200 more deaths were reported than originally expected between the second and 12th weeks of 2015 in Switzerland.

This represents an overall increase of 17 percent compared to mortality estimations based on figures from previous years, FSO said, adding that the excess mortality almost exclusively affected individuals of 65 years and over.

In 2014, around 65,000 deaths were reported in the confederation, 1,600 fewer than expected by authorities.

According to FSO, this mortality rate increase can be largely attributed to the peak of the influenza epidemic which affected the country at the beginning of the year.

Though rarely considered a direct cause of death, the flu can prove fatal when combined with factors such as cold weather and the onset of other viruses.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), hospitalization and death is more likely to occur in high-risk groups such as children under the age of two, adults over 65, pregnant women and people with chronic heart, lung, kidney, liver, blood or metabolic diseases, or weakened immune systems.

An estimated 250,000 to 500,000 deaths are caused globally each year by seasonal influenza epidemics, which also result in three to five million cases of severe illness. Endit