In recent years, Italy has been registering peaks in death rates, particularly among the elderly during the winter season. Influenza epidemics have been indicated as one of the potential determinants of such an excess (read the report). Over 68,000 deaths were attributable to influenza epidemics in the study period.. which is not completely unexpected, given the high number of fragile very old subjects living in Italy.

Every day, 2,500 Germans die from a disease; in Italy 2,600.
2017/18 was the worst flu season in 30 years in Germany, with 25,100 deaths from influenza.

56 million human beings die every year from a disease.