FLU. The rate of contamination of the flu is increasing and worries the health authorities. With a particularly cold winter approaching, the flu should make a comeback. According to some doctors, it will be particularly virulent this year.
[Mis à jour le 21 octobre 2022 à 14h55] Will we have an epidemic wave of flu this winter? Health authorities fear it. Indeed, the flu virus has not become more virulent, but our immune defenses have weakened, as described by the professor of virology at the Lyon University Hospital Bruno Lina: “Intrinsically, it has not acquired factors of virulence which would make it more aggressive than its predecessors. Simply, since it has circulated less over the past two winters, we observe a small lack of collective immunity, which will promote its circulation. The doctor pleads for the vaccinationand in particular that of the nursing staff: “We know that the vaccine slows down transmission and perhaps even more effectively than the vaccine against SARS-COV-2. […] We carried out a study which shows that from a vaccination rate of 40% in a healthcare team, the number of cases of influenza observed in patients was divided by five.
The figures from Public Health France illustrate the words of the infectious disease specialist. Thus, she noted in her last report, published on Wednesday October 19, 2022, an increase in “influenza-like illness” indicators in community medicine. In addition, doctors are beginning to observe confirmed cases of influenza in France. SPF specifies that no serious case has been admitted to intensive care. In addition, the Sentinelles network, the health monitoring entity, observed a drop in cases of flu-like syndromes compared to the previous week. Thus, the incidence rate of consultations for flu-like illness per 100,000 inhabitants fell from 85 to 64.
What are the symptoms of the flu?
On the site of theHealth Insuranceit is indicated that after contamination, the disease declares itself within approximately 48 hours, with “a high fever (around 39°C) accompanied by chills, intense fatigue, a feeling of depression with loss of appetite, diffuse muscular (aches) and joint pain, headaches, then a dry and painful cough”.
Note that a person who has the flu is contagious for five days after the appearance of the very first symptoms. At least, as far as adults are concerned. For children, contagiousness can extend over a week. Covid-19 or flu? On the other hand, it is sometimes difficult to find one’s way on this point, the symptoms being very similar. To remove any doubt as to Covid-19 contamination, the attending physician may request a PCR test.
Should I get vaccinated against the flu?
In his interview with West France Sunday October 2, the Minister of Health invited the most vulnerable French people to be vaccinated. “You have to get vaccinated when you are a fragile person and that’s good: you will very soon be able to get vaccinated simultaneously against the flu and the Covid”, declared François Braun. And to add: “I really appeal to the elderly, or at risk, in the face of the disease: it is important to get vaccinated.”
The website service-public.fr indicates, for its part, that the vaccination campaign will begin on October 18 in metropolitan France, but also in Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyana. The vaccination campaign is to run until November 15. As for Mayotte, it already started on September 6th.
Who should get vaccinated? While the flu affects between 2 and 6 million people each year in the country, so-called “fragile” people can quickly find themselves in a serious condition leading to hospitalization, or even in the most complicated cases, death. To avoid such tragedies, “people aged 65 and over, people under 65 with certain chronic diseases, pregnant women, people suffering from obesity (BMI equal to or greater than 40 kg/m2) , the entourage of infants under 6 months at risk (who cannot be vaccinated) and immunocompromised people, health professionals and professionals in medico-social establishments in contact with patients at risk, home help for individuals vulnerable employers” are invited to get vaccinated. Note that for the first time, professionals exposed to swine and avian influenza viruses are also targeted as part of the 2022-2023 campaign, reports service-public.fr. For information, the vaccine is free for people at risk. For others, the price varies between 6 and 10 euros.