Emergencies are overloaded with the flu virus. – G.Souvant / AFP
As Asia faces the new coronavirus, in France,
the flu epidemic now affects five French regions,
the public health agency France public health said on Wednesday, adding that eight other regions were in the pre-epidemic phase.
After Ile-de-France and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d´Azur region, the epidemic reached Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Occitanie and Pays de la Loire.
[[#Influenza]Update on 01/22
➡️ The Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Occitanie and Pays de la Loire regions are going through an epidemic phase this week
To consult the weekly bulletin ?https: //t.co/6O6kx55I7z pic.twitter.com/O5Ro3J2GsW– SantépubliqueFrance (@santeprevention) January 22, 2020
Seventeen dead since early November
Since 4 November, in intensive care, “183 serious cases of influenza have been reported” in mainland France, including 21 last week, and a total of 17 patients have died. The average age of these severe cases is 51 years. The vast majority (73%) had risk factors: for example, respiratory and heart failure, chronic diseases such as diabetes, age over 65, especially in those already suffering from one or more pathologies. 62% of patients at risk were not vaccinated. A figure that only concerns those for whom the information was obtained, namely 111.
Last week, the influenza represented in France a rate of consultations of 122 per 100,000 inhabitants, in increase compared to the previous week (83). “The proportion of influenza-like illness among SOS Doctors consultations is also increasing (7.2% compared to 5.4%)”, according to the health agency. In addition, the share of hospitalizations for influenza or influenza-like illness also increased compared to the previous week (5.7 / 1,000 compared to 4.3 / 1,000). Influenza and flu-like illnesses caused 3,417 emergency room visits from January 13 to 19, and resulted in 328 hospitalizations.
Bronchiolitis over, gastroenteritis down
Still within the scope of winter epidemics, gastroenteritis, although still strong, sees its number of new cases declining sharply. The epidemic peak seems to have been reached during the second week of the year (January 6 to 12), according to the Sentinelles-Inserm surveillance network. The most affected regions were New Aquitaine (386 new cases / 100,000 inhabitants), Hauts-de-France (385) and Grand Est (355).
In addition, the epidemic of bronchiolitis, a frequent respiratory disease that affects babies under the age of 2, already over in Ile-de-France, is also over in Pays-de la Loire. The decrease in emergency room visits for bronchiolitis continues in mainland France. The epidemic also ended in Guadeloupe, Martinique and Saint-Martin, but it started in Mayotte.
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