Flu season in Austria
Current flu, COVID-19 and RSV activity in Austria — based on ECDC ERVISS weekly data from AGES (Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit). Rescaled into a consultation-equivalent signal for a qualitative low / moderate / high classification.
Current situation: Influenza
In week 14 of 2026, activity of influenza (seasonal flu) in Austria is low. The trend — derived from clinical surveillance — is falling. Over a four-week comparison, a clear decline is visible.
The classification is based on the ECDC ERVISS weekly reports, drawing on data from AGES (Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit) via its sentinel GP network and the Nationale Referenzzentrale für Influenza. Seasonally, infection waves in Austria typically peak between January and March; activity is usually markedly lower during the summer months. How severe a given season becomes depends on the circulating virus variant and the population's immune status, among other factors.
Data sources and methodology
The current picture for Austria is built on the European Respiratory Virus Surveillance Summary (ERVISS), published weekly by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). AGES (Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit) via its sentinel GP network and the Nationale Referenzzentrale für Influenza is the national public-health authority that feeds ERVISS with sentinel primary care and virology data.
ECDC ERVISS
ERVISS is ECDC's weekly pan-European surveillance summary for influenza, SARS-CoV-2 and RSV. National authorities — in Austria's case AGES (Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit) via its sentinel GP network and the Nationale Referenzzentrale für Influenza — submit harmonised indicators every week, which ECDC publishes in a standardised dataset on Thursdays. Using ERVISS rather than each country's native portal ensures cross-country comparability.
ILI / ARI consultation rates and positivity
AGES (Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit) via its sentinel GP network and the Nationale Referenzzentrale für Influenza operates a sentinel network of general practices that report weekly rates of patients consulting for influenza-like illness (ILI) or acute respiratory infection (ARI). A subset of patients is swabbed and tested by reference laboratories, producing pathogen-specific positivity rates for flu, SARS-CoV-2 and RSV.
Why this source
Combining consultation incidence with virological positivity yields a pathogen-specific weekly incidence signal (ILI × positivity / 100). This is the standard European methodology and provides a more robust view than either indicator alone — consultation rates capture illness burden, positivity confirms which pathogen is driving it.
Qualitative classification
The “low”, “moderate” and “high” categories follow seasonal reference values and epidemiological thresholds calibrated to match our classifications for other countries. The ILI × positivity / 100 product is scaled to comparable thresholds using a divisor of 3, which aligns European sentinel peaks with the consultation-equivalent scale used elsewhere. Data refreshes weekly when ECDC publishes the latest ERVISS update, typically on Thursdays.
Frequently asked questions
When is flu season in Austria?
Austrian flu activity usually starts rising in late December, peaks between January and March, and tails off by April. The precise window varies year to year with the dominant influenza subtypes and residual immunity. AGES — the Agentur für Gesundheit und Ernährungssicherheit — publishes weekly updates on influenza activity through its Diagnostisches Influenza-Netzwerk Österreich (DINÖ). Continental-climate timing means Austrian peaks often land close to those in Germany and Switzerland.
How does AGES classify flu severity?
AGES describes flu activity in qualitative bands — no activity, sporadic, local, regional, and widespread — based on sentinel GP consultations, laboratory positivity, and hospital signals. These classifications are reported weekly and also transmitted to ECDC for inclusion in the European Respiratory Virus Surveillance Summary (ERVISS). The qualitative framing lets clinicians and the public understand whether the season's pressure is ordinary, elevated, or exceptional relative to past winters.
How is flu surveillance organised in Austria?
Austria's influenza surveillance combines a sentinel network of general practitioners, regional laboratory testing coordinated by AGES, and notifications of severe cases under the Epidemiegesetz. Virological characterisation is done at the National Reference Centre for Influenza at AGES in Vienna. Weekly bulletins summarise the picture and feed ECDC's ERVISS, which places Austria's trajectory alongside other EU/EEA countries.
Is the flu vaccine free in Austria?
Austria gradually introduced a publicly funded seasonal flu vaccination programme (Öffentliches Impfprogramm Influenza, ÖIP), which makes the vaccine available free of charge in participating pharmacies, doctors' offices, and vaccination centres. Priority groups include older adults, pregnant women, people with chronic conditions, and healthcare workers. AGES reports vaccine-uptake estimates in parallel with its weekly surveillance bulletins.
How does Austria compare to its European neighbours?
Because Austria reports into ECDC ERVISS using harmonised indicators, its weekly flu classification is directly comparable with Germany, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the rest of the EU/EEA. Continental-climate countries typically see broadly similar peak windows between January and March. Lead–lag patterns of a few weeks are common and are visible in ECDC's side-by-side dashboards.
Want the actual numbers?
You'll find them in the app.
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