The National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA) states that in the week of January 2nd to 8th, “mortality from all causes was within the expected range in Portugal”, despite having identified “excesses mortality from all causes in the North region and in the age group aged 75 and over”.

INSA stresses that the excess mortality in the North and in elderly people over 75 is part of a longer period, which began on November 28, for a total of six weeks.

Within the scope of the National Influenza Surveillance Program, in the 2022/2023 season, 727 cases of acute respiratory infection/flu syndrome (ARI/GS) were analyzed and 282 (38.8%) cases of flu were detected, of which 280 (99, 3%) of type A and 2 (0.7%) of type B, with 75 cases of SARS-CoV-2 (10.3%) having been detected.

In the first week of the year, two positive cases for the flu virus were detected, both type A and two positive cases for SARS-CoV-2, with 15 cases of co-infection having been registered in the sentinel networks, four of which were SARS-CoV-2 and flu virus co-infection.

“So far, 70 cases of co-infection with the flu virus and SARS-CoV-2 have been detected. Since October, other respiratory agents have been identified in 9,222 cases and, in the last week, other respiratory agents have been identified in 490 cases, mostly respiratory syncytial virus”, reads in the bulletin.