Flu in Serbia: 7,336 Flu-Like Illnesses in One Week
For October 19 to 25, Batut reports rising incidence, three new laboratory-confirmed flu cases and the highest rates among children under four.
Has flu season started in Serbia? According to the latest report from the Institute of Public Health of Serbia “Dr Milan Jovanovic Batut”, not yet, but the numbers are climbing. Flu virus activity is below the epidemic threshold, while flu-like illness is up from the previous week.
What does Batut report for October 19 to 25?
In the 43rd reporting week, October 19 to 25, 2026, Serbia recorded 7,336 cases of flu-like illness. The Institute also registered 13,831 cases of acute respiratory infections. Objektiv adds that the incidence of flu-like illness is 112 per 100,000 residents.
The Institute sums up the situation in a single sentence from its report:
“The intensity of influenza virus activity is at baseline level, below the epidemic threshold, while the incidence trend is rising compared with the previous week.”
In other words, the numbers are going up, but the epidemic threshold has not been reached.
Where were the three new flu cases confirmed?
During the same week, laboratories confirmed three new flu cases, in patients from the Branicevo, Kolubara and Raska districts. Patients from the Branicevo and Kolubara districts tested positive for the AH1pdm09 subtype. In the patient from the Raska district, from the area covered by the Kraljevo Institute of Public Health, influenza type A was identified.
Sources disagree on the running total. Objektiv and sd.rs say these three bring the number of confirmed cases to ten since the start of season monitoring. The portal 24sedam writes that nine cases have been confirmed since the beginning of October. The sources do not explain the difference.
Who is hit hardest?
As in previous weeks, the highest rates of illness are among children under four and school-age children. For acute respiratory infections, the Institute singles out the youngest children:
“The highest rate of acute respiratory infection was recorded in children under four years of age.”
Objektiv also reports that, among the causes of other respiratory infections, SARS-CoV-2 was positive in 1.52 percent of tested samples.
Is every flu-like illness actually flu?
No. Flu-like illness is not necessarily laboratory-confirmed flu, because other respiratory viruses cause similar symptoms. That is why the report separates two figures: 7,336 reported cases of flu-like illness and three laboratory-confirmed flu cases.
We earlier reported on Belgrade, where the decline in respiratory infections slowed to 1.2 percent. The new report covers all of Serbia and measures flu-like illness, so the two figures cannot be compared directly.
