Persistent Cold Wave Spikes Illness Levels in Thuringia
In the first half of 2025, Thuringia witnessed a 17% increase in sick days due to respiratory illnesses, accounting for 24% of all sick leave. This trend was particularly prevalent among employees in sensitive sectors such as healthcare, elderly care, and childcare.
According to the IGES Institute's analysis of data from over 47,000 DAK-insured individuals in Thuringia, this surge in sick days likely reflects an elevated circulation of respiratory infections in these high-contact environments. The close and frequent contact with vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, young children, and those with compromised immune systems, facilitates the spread of contagious respiratory viruses.
While the specific increase in Thuringia in 2025 was not directly referenced in the search results, context from previous years helps explain possible causes. Respiratory illnesses tend to surge in healthcare, elderly care, and childcare settings, increasing sick days among staff. Post-pandemic patterns, including altered respiratory virus transmission dynamics, may also contribute to a higher incidence of common respiratory infections. Additionally, no recent restrictions or targeted control measures were mentioned in the results that might have prevented such infections, possibly leading to higher spread.
The highest number of sick days were reported by employees in elderly and healthcare roles, averaging around 15 days per person. Employees in childcare roles, such as those working in kindergartens, averaged around 13 sick days per person. In contrast, IT professionals had the lowest number of sick days, averaging around 7 per person.
The average duration of illness per case was 9.7 days, a decrease from the 10.5 days observed in the first half of 2024.
Marcus Kaiser, regional manager at DAK, emphasises the need for more attention on prevention, health promotion, and workplace health management in these sensitive areas. For more information on occupational health management and special offers from DAK for companies and their employees, please visit [www.dak.de/bgm].
[1] No explicit data or government reports from 2025 addressing respiratory illness spikes in Thuringia were found in the search results to provide further specifics or confirm particular outbreaks or causes.
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