[Surveillance and prevention of influenza in Belgium]

Influenza is a major public health problem. The national influenza surveillance system is based on the collaboration of sentinel general practitioners who collect nose and throat swabs from their patients and report the percentage of consultations which concern influenza-like illness or acute respiratory infections. During the influenza season, a report is published each week on the website http://www.lph.fgov.be/epidemio. Belgium participates in the European Influenza Surveillance Scheme and the global Influenza surveillance system of the W.H.O.