Metropolitan France began to be threatened by an epidemic of influenza, especially in the southwest. Bronchiolitis also continues to spread to all areas.
The number of influenza cases, such as hospitalizations, recorded the third consecutive weekly increase in the French capital last week, leading the Occitanie region to enter the pre-pandemic stage, as summarized in the publication of the French Public Health Agency.
It is the first metropolitan area to pass in this category, Réunion is already in this state and Mayotte is completely infected with the epidemic.
French people are less immune
Last winter, confinement and Covid barrier gestures helped prevent all viruses, including the flu.
The French were less infected than usual and therefore less collectively immunized, which raises fears of an even stronger epidemic this year, as well as of other diseases such as gastroenteritis.
This phenomenon has already been around for weeks for the treatment of bronchiolitis, a disease that mainly affects children.
Common and highly contagious causing coughing, hard, rapid, wheezing and wheezing. Most of the time, it may require an emergency room visit or even hospitalization.
Bronchiolitis does not subside
Since November, the epidemic of bronchiolitis has hit all regions of France, where it continues “at a high level”. Reunion and Guadeloupe have now been added.
In mainland France, last week, “of the 5577 children under the age of two seen in the emergency room with bronchiolitis (…), 5077 (91%) were less than 1 year old and 2015 (36%) were hospitalized” Agency details.
Of these, “1,893 (94%) are under one year old,” she said.
Finally, on the gastroenteritis side, cases in urban France are increasing but are below their normal level at this time of year, according to the Sentinels Network, which provides data from several general practitioners.
