Thursday, December 26, 2019, due to the increase in SOS Doctors consultations, Public Health France has placed four regions in the pre-epidermal phase of influenza, including Occitania.
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“Increase in indicators of influenza activity in mainland France”: on its website, the French Public Health agency warns against the return of the flu virus to France. Four regions are particularly affected for this penultimate week of 2019: Ile-de-France, Pays de la Loire, PACA (Provence-Alpes-Côte d´Azur) and Occitanie.
47 serious cases since early November 2019
This week, the state agency noted that 3% of consultations under SOS Doctors were for “flu syndrome”, with 47 serious cases noted since November 4, 2019, and “167 episodes of grouped cases of acute respiratory infection reported in elderly communities ”.
Increase in hospitalizations
Another worrying and increasing episode: the number of emergency visits (1,787 in week 51 against 1,219 in week 50) and hospitalizations (from 95 to 160).
To properly guard against the arrival of the flu in our region, Public Health France recalls that ” vaccination is the best way to protect yourself from the flu and its complications. A period of 15 days after vaccination is necessary to be protected ”.
Tips and good gestures
It also recalls the right things to do to fight the epidemic:
Wash your hands regularly with soap and water or a hydroalcoholic solution: cough or sneeze into your elbow; use a disposable handkerchief; wear a disposable mask when you have flu-like illness, especially in contact with frail people.
During the winter period 2018-2019, the Occitanie region had already been one of the most strongly affected by the flu epidemic, resulting in vaccine shortages.
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