Respiratory illness in Poland
The three major respiratory pathogens side by side — influenza, COVID-19 and RSV — based on ECDC ERVISS weekly data from NIZP PZH.
Current situation: Influenza
In week 15 of 2026, activity of influenza (seasonal flu) in Poland 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 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. How severe a given season becomes depends on the circulating virus variant and the population's immune status, among other factors.
Current situation: COVID-19
In week 15 of 2026, activity of COVID-19 in Poland is low. The trend — derived from clinical surveillance — is stable. Over a four-week comparison, a clear decline is visible.
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. How severe a given season becomes depends on the circulating virus variant and the population's immune status, among other factors.
Current situation: RSV
In week 15 of 2026, activity of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in Poland is moderate. The trend — derived from clinical surveillance — is rising. A clear upward movement has emerged over the past few weeks.
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. 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 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.
Frequently asked questions
How is overall respiratory-illness activity tracked in Poland?
NIZP PZH combines primary-care reports of influenza-like illness and acute respiratory infection with laboratory results for influenza, SARS-CoV-2, and RSV. These streams are aggregated into weekly bulletins and transmitted to ECDC's ERVISS. Together they describe the burden carried by doctors' surgeries and hospitals, rather than a raw count of everyone who is ill at home — consistent with how other European surveillance systems work.
Why does respiratory illness peak in Polish winters?
Several factors stack during Polish winters. Cold, dry indoor air favours viral stability and weakens mucous-membrane defences. People spend more time indoors in poorly ventilated spaces. School terms and indoor gatherings intensify mixing. And several respiratory viruses — flu, RSV, SARS-CoV-2, plus rhinoviruses and other endemics — tend to circulate simultaneously, which compounds the overall load.
How does Poland compare to other European countries?
Poland's winter respiratory burden is broadly comparable to central and eastern European neighbours, though peaks often lag Germany and Austria by a few weeks. Because all EU/EEA countries feed ERVISS, ECDC produces side-by-side visualisations that make relative intensity and timing easy to read. This cross-border view is one of the main reasons ECDC's platform exists.
How are activity levels classified in Polish bulletins?
NIZP PZH uses qualitative tiers — baseline, low, moderate, high, very high — derived from historical reference ranges for ILI/ARI consultation rates and laboratory positivity. These tiers are designed to show whether current pressure is ordinary, elevated, or unusually intense for the time of year. They deliberately avoid implying false precision in the underlying sentinel signals.
What drives year-to-year variation in Poland?
Season-to-season differences come from the mix of circulating influenza subtypes, residual population immunity from prior waves, vaccine match, and the behaviour of SARS-CoV-2 variants. RSV also contributes, especially in years where earlier low-circulation periods have left younger children more susceptible. NIZP PZH's bulletins and ECDC's ERVISS both contextualise each season against prior reference periods, which is why the qualitative tiering matters more than absolute counts.
Want the actual numbers?
You'll find them in the app.
Here you only see the trend. In the app: exact incidence rates, “X out of 100 people infectious”, your personal risk based on age and pre-existing conditions, wastewater trends, 36 countries, home-screen widget.
