The rate of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) has exceeded the level considered epidemic in Spain, after reporting 478.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last analyzed week, which represents an increase of 28.2 percent compared to the previous seven days, according to the report from the Acute Respiratory Infection Surveillance System (SiVIRA), released this Thursday by the Carlos III Health Institute (ISCIII).
The document, referring to the period between September 21 and September 27, indicates that the intensity of the epidemic is "low." In the same dates last year, the ARI rate was at 445.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and was also in an epidemic phase.
In Primary Care (PC), SARS-CoV-2 continues to be the predominant agent among detected infections, accounting for 27.2 percent of positives (26.8% the previous week), compared to 4.1 percent corresponding to influenza (8.2%) and 0.2 percent to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), which had recorded zero percent in the previous week.
According to the estimates of the surveillance system, in the last studied week the incidence of Covid-19 stands at 119.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, representing an increase of 28.7 percent compared to the previous week, when 92.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants were reported.
Regarding influenza, the incidence drops to 12 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, a decrease of 46.7 percent compared to the 22.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants of the previous week. In the case of RSV, responsible for cases of bronchitis and bronchiolitis in children under five years old, the incidence is estimated at one case per 100,000 inhabitants, after none were recorded in the previous week.
The report also details the specific rates by clinical syndrome. The influenza syndrome reaches 16.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, above the 13.9 of the previous week. The Covid-19 rate in Primary Care is 29.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, which represents an increase compared to the 21.6 cases recorded the previous week.
Bronchitis and bronchiolitis in children under five years old is the condition that has increased the most, with a rate of 194.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, an 86.3 percent increase compared to the previous week, when it stood at 104.3 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
SITUATION IN HOSPITALS
In the hospital setting, the hospitalization rate for severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) stands at 9.2 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, slightly above the nine cases recorded the previous week.
Regarding the positivity of hospital samples, 7.1 percent corresponds to influenza, a percentage somewhat lower than that of the previous week, when it was 10.9 percent. For SARS-CoV-2, the positivity rises to 21 percent, compared to 15.3 percent from the previous week, while RSV is at 0.4 percent, after starting from a previous value of zero percent.
The hospitalization rate associated with influenza is estimated at 0.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, below the 1.1 cases from the previous week. In terms of severity, since the start of the season in week 40/2025, hospital admissions for influenza show 27.3 percent pneumonia, 4.7 percent admission to Intensive Care Unit (ICU), and 7.3 percent lethality.
In the case of Covid-19, the hospitalization rate is at 1.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, slightly above the 1.1 cases from the previous week. Regarding severity, since the start of the season, hospitalized patients for Covid-19 register 22.5 percent pneumonia, 4.3 percent admissions to ICU, and 8.7 percent lethality.
Concerning RSV, the hospitalization rate reaches 0.1 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, after none were recorded the previous week. Since the start of the season, hospitalized cases for RSV show 16.1 percent pneumonia, eight percent admission to ICU, and 3.4 percent lethality.
The report also includes data from the Daily Mortality Monitoring System (MoMo), which estimates that in week 39 of this year, there have been 8,137 deaths in Spain, compared to the 7,705 expected deaths for that period.