The seasonal flu epidemic, which first affected the Île-de-France region, has spread to three other regions of mainland France, and the bronchiolitis epidemic, which mainly affects babies, continues to grow, said this Wednesday, 11 December Public Health of France. .
In the week ending December 8, three new regions of France, Hauts-de-France, Normandy and Burgundy-France-Comté, in turn entered an epidemic.
Vaccination lags behind
The rest of the metropolis should soon follow, because almost all other regions, except Corsica, are in the so-called pre-epidemic phase. Abroad, Martinique is also in a pre-epidemic situation.
“Influenza/influenza syndrome indicators increased considerably in (urban) medicine and hospitals,” the health agency summarized in its weekly bulletin on acute respiratory infections.
And “this increase affects all age groups, but more particularly those under 15 years of age,” he stated.
While vaccination, especially of the most vulnerable, appears to be lagging behind compared to previous years, Public Health France reaffirms that “it remains the best way to protect against flu and COVID-19, in particular against severe forms of these diseases.
This vaccination campaign also affects Covid, which at the moment is at its lowest level but with an increasing level of virus circulation in wastewater compared to previous weeks.
“In view of the end-of-year meetings, there is still time to get vaccinated,” insists the agency, two weeks after the health authorities’ call for “greater mobilization.”
As for bronchiolitis, which mainly affects babies, all continental regions, except Corsica, are in an epidemic phase.
Although the indicators increased in the week ending December 8, they remain at “a lower level than that observed during the period before the COVID-19 pandemic,” Public Health France noted.
Therefore, the intensity level of bronchiolitis remains “low in a hospital setting,” according to the agency. Bronchiolitis cases were rare in 2020-2021, in a context marked by multiple confinements, before recovering strongly in the following three seasons. Abroad, the bronchiolitis epidemic also affects Mayotte, joined by Guyana, Guadeloupe and Martinique.
This season is marked by the rollout of two preventive treatments, AstraZeneca and Sanofi’s Beyfortus, an antibody given directly to babies, and Pfizer’s Abrysvo, a vaccine given before birth to pregnant women.
Source: BFM TV
