Flu season in Poland
Current flu activity in Poland, based on ECDC ERVISS weekly data, set against the parallel COVID-19 and RSV trajectories.
Influenza: Low
Low
The source currently reports no meaningful activity (as of 16 Aug 2026).
Data window: Week 33 · Aug 10 – Aug 16 · Source: ECDC (weekly) · Source on seasonal break, next data from week 40
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View the last 8 weeks
In week 33 of 2026, Influenza activity in Poland is classified as low.
The source reports no meaningful activity across these weeks; a week-over-week percentage would be pure noise here.
The last 8 reported weeks
| Week | Relative | Level | vs prior week |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 33 | – | Low | – |
| Week 32 | – | Low | – |
| Week 31 | – | Low | – |
| Week 30 | – | Low | – |
| Week 29 | – | Low | – |
| Week 28 | – | Low | – |
| Week 27 | – | Low | – |
| Week 26 | – | Low | – |
Across these weeks the source reports no meaningful activity, the values sit at the floor of its scale.
Current activity
- InfluenzaLowstableWeek 33Trend: stable · Week 33
- COVID-19LowstableWeek 33Trend: stable · Week 33
- RSVLowstableWeek 33Trend: stable · Week 33
What this means
In week 33 of 2026, activity of influenza (seasonal flu) in Poland is low. The trend, derived from clinical surveillance, is stable. Activity has barely shifted over the past few weeks.
Data, context and methodology
The current picture for Poland is built on the European Respiratory Virus Surveillance Summary (ERVISS), published weekly by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). the National Institute of Public Health (NIZP PZH) via the SENTINEL system 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 Poland's case the National Institute of Public Health (NIZP PZH) via the SENTINEL system, 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
the National Institute of Public Health (NIZP PZH) via the SENTINEL system 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.
Source and seasonal pattern by pathogen
- Influenza
- The classification is based on the ECDC ERVISS weekly reports, drawing on sentinel and virological data from the National Institute of Public Health NIH - National Research Institute (NIZP PZH). Seasonally, infection waves in Poland typically peak between January and March; activity is usually markedly lower during the summer months.
- COVID-19
- The classification is based on the ECDC ERVISS weekly reports, drawing on COVID-19 indicators from Poland's National Institute of Public Health NIH - National Research Institute (NIZP PZH). Seasonally, infection waves in Poland typically peak during winter, with occasional summer waves driven by new variants; activity is usually markedly lower in late spring between waves.
- RSV
- The classification is based on the ECDC ERVISS weekly reports, drawing on RSV indicators from Poland's National Institute of Public Health NIH - National Research Institute (NIZP PZH). Seasonally, infection waves in Poland typically peak between December and February; activity is usually markedly lower in spring and summer.
Frequently asked questions
When is flu season in Poland?
Flu season in Poland runs through the cold half of the year, with meaningful activity usually building from December onward. Peaks tend to arrive slightly later than in the DACH region, most often between January and March. The exact timing shifts year to year depending on the dominant influenza subtype and residual immunity. Polish surveillance bulletins treat the winter trough of January–March as the core window where primary-care load is highest.
Who runs flu surveillance in Poland?
Influenza surveillance in Poland is coordinated by NIZP PZH, the National Institute of Public Health (Państwowy Zakład Higieny), which operates the national SENTINEL and non-sentinel reporting networks. NIZP PZH publishes regular influenza bulletins combining clinical ILI reports from primary-care sites with virological confirmations from reference laboratories. Aggregated indicators then feed into ECDC's ERVISS platform at the European level, where Poland's signal can be compared directly with other EU/EEA countries.
How does Poland report into European flu data?
Polish weekly indicators are transmitted to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and published through ERVISS, the European Respiratory Virus Surveillance Summary. ERVISS harmonises country-level signals (ILI/ARI consultation rates, positivity, and subtype distribution) so that Poland's trajectory can be read alongside neighbours like Germany, Czechia, and the Baltic states. This means Polish flu activity is visible in both NIZP PZH's national bulletins and ECDC's pan-European dashboards.
How does Poland's flu season compare to Germany's?
The overall shape is similar, a winter wave driven by the same circulating influenza A and B strains, but Poland's peak typically lags the German one by a few weeks, and the late-winter tail (February–March) is often more prominent. Because both countries report into ERVISS, the relative timing of peaks is directly observable. In colder seasons with an eastward strain drift, Polish activity can remain elevated after German indicators have already started falling.
How do I read Poland's flu activity levels?
NIZP PZH and ECDC classify activity qualitatively rather than by absolute case counts, using tiers such as baseline, low, moderate, high, and very high. These tiers are derived from historical reference ranges for ILI/ARI consultation rates and laboratory positivity. The goal is to signal whether the current week's pressure is ordinary for the time of year or unusually intense, without implying precision the underlying sentinel data cannot support.
More situation reports
Data last refreshed: Aug 31, 2026, 19:33. Update cadence: weekly.
This page is not medical advice and does not replace consultation with a healthcare professional. For specific symptoms, please contact a medical professional.
About this page
Published by Renderei Martin GmbH, Berlin. No commercial interest in individual health recommendations. The app is optionally monetised via a freemium subscription.
Content is based exclusively on the linked official surveillance publications. Medical statements are curated against the guidance of RKI, ECDC and WHO.
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