The flu epidemic, early this year in France, has accelerated further in recent days while, in infants, that of bronchiolitis confirms its slowdown while remaining at a high level, the public health agency summarized on Wednesday.
“The intensification of the circulation of influenza viruses in all metropolitan areas continues”noted Public Health France in a weekly report on the last week.
The flu epidemic, which is currently affecting all regions of mainland France and most of the overseas territories following having reached Guadeloupe and Guyana, is early this year.
Hospitalizations, in particular, more than doubled in one week, to some 1,500 cases in Île-de-France.
Ce “early start exposes you to a large-scale epidemic, with a peak expected at the end of December”summarized Monday the virologist Bruno Lina, during a conference of Covars, heir to the Scientific Council which managed the Covid epidemic.
Precisely the Covid, which is currently experiencing a new wave even if it is slowing down, complicates the deal for health services in the face of the flu, especially since an epidemic of bronchiolitis has been hitting infants for weeks at a unprecedented level for ten years.
Admittedly, the new cases of bronchiolitis have slowed down in recent weeks and the peak therefore seems to have passed. But the epidemic continues all the same “at a high level”, underlines Public Health France.
Nearly 2,000 babies were still hospitalized last week in mainland France. Despite a decline of a quarter in one week, this situation remains burdensome for hospitals, some of which are unable to accommodate sick children and must refer them to other establishments.
“The pediatric health impact of this epidemic is major, imposing transfers of children in a number much higher than the epidemic of 2021/22”noted Mr. Lina.
In this context of multiple epidemics, the health authorities are once once more calling on people at risk – especially the elderly – to be vaccinated once morest influenza and Covid, while vaccination campaigns are lagging behind this year. .
The Prime Minister, Elisabeth Borne, herself launched such an appeal this week, warning that the situation of hospitals would be “even more tense” with the end of year celebrations.
