The flu epidemic is coming, Occitanie first metropolitan region affected – Yahoo News

Emergency room visits and hospitalizations for influenza or flu syndrome increased sharply during the week of December 13.

HEALTH – Faced with less immune French people, the flu epidemic is advancing. Occitanie is the first metropolitan region to enter an epidemic phase, Public Health France said on Wednesday, December 22. during his weekly bulletin.

For the week of December 13, the health agency counted 1901 emergency visits for a flu or flu syndrome, compared to 1213 the previous week. 171 people were hospitalized, while the previous week 100 hospitalizations had been counted.

The increase in influenza cases, especially in children under 15, is pushing the Occitanie region into an epidemic phase. Four metropolitan regions are in the pre-epidemic phase: Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Center-Val-de-Loire, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Ile-de-France. In Overseas Territories, Mayotte remains in the epidemic phase, while Réunion remains in the pre-epidemic phase.

Decrease in collective immunity

For several months, doctors have warned of an influenza epidemic that may be more intense than before the Covid-19 epidemic. Indeed, with the application of barrier gestures and confinements, the French were less confronted with respiratory infections such as the flu and are therefore less immunized collectively.

“With a respiratory virus occupying the field [le Covid], this prevents other viruses from circulating, in particular the flu ”, had also added Dr. Anne Mosnier, questioned by The HuffPost.

This consequence of the Covid was felt this fall with the bronchiolitis epidemic, which mainly affects babies and is present in all regions.

With the resumption of the coronavirus epidemic, caused by the Omicron variant, these data add to the hospital pressure felt for several weeks. “Health pressure is increasing and several parameters worry us,” noted the Minister of Health Olivier Véran in an interview with Le Parisien in mid-December. […] There is care that can no longer be deprogrammed, the weariness of caregivers, the return of the flu, the epidemic of bronchiolitis, trauma “, observed the doctor by training, fearing” a hospital peak between Christmas and New Years. Year”.

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This article originally appeared on The HuffPost and has been updated.

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