At the beginning of January, unlike last year, the flu is indeed there, and the epidemic is progressing everywhere in France. Three regions are now in an epidemic situation: Île-de-France, Occitanie and Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes. This is what Public Health France indicates in his last newsletter published Wednesday January 5.
These viruses do not only affect the elderly, on the contrary. As usual at the start of an epidemic, influenza is transmitted through children. Of the 53 patients hospitalized for severe forms for three months, half are under 14 years old. These hospitalization figures are obviously incomparable with those linked to Covid-19: 300 daily admissions to intensive care are recorded. But the arrival of the flu is an additional reason to respect barrier gestures.
There may be asymptomatic cases of the flu, as we have with Covid-19. You can transmit the influenza virus without knowing it: virologists estimate that between 30 and 40% of influenza cases are asymptomatic.
Why are these influenza viruses resurfacing this year, when they had disappeared last year? First, because there is more social mixing than last year. Since September, we have avoided confinement and curfews, and the closure of schools. Then, because the phenomenon of viral interference seems to be less strong this year, according to Professor Bruno Lina, virologist and member of the scientific council.
Viral interference is what sometimes happens when a virus is in the majority in a population. In this case, it can overwhelm all the others because the organisms of these people will generate an inflammatory response, which protects against the dominant virus and which also partly prevents other infectious agents from taking hold. But this year, without being able to really explain it, this phenomenon is less present, hence the return of bronchiolitis, gastroenteritis and influenza.
There is therefore a particular indication to be vaccinated against the flu this year for the elderly or frail. Moreover, there is still time to be vaccinated, ten days being necessary for the injection to become effective. Currently, the level of influenza vaccination is very slightly lower than last year for those over 65, and there are regional differences. The south-eastern half of France is so far less vaccinated than the west and north of the country.
–
