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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director of Doctissimo)
Medical validation:
February 10, 2023
The flu epidemic is on the rise again and with it, the risk of being reinfected. How to protect yourself from the virus? Should we be worried about this new type B strain? The answer of Dr Gérald Kierzek, emergency doctor and medical director of Doctissimo.
While many French people thought the flu season “finished“, here she is pointing the tip of her nose again. A “rebound of the epidemic“, confirmed by Public Health France in its latest weekly newsletter published this Wednesday. No less than 11 of the 13 regions of metropolitan France are now classified in the epidemic phase.
The number of “type B” flu cases on the rise
For two weeks, the flu has been acting up. It is reigniting almost everywhere in mainland France so that only two regions remain at this outbreak: Normandy and Hauts-de-France, in the “post-epidemic” phase. Conversely, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur regions are the most affected.
Who is responsible for this rebound? A new strain, called type B. Santé Publique France also notes “an increase in the share of type B/Victoria viruses, which have become the majority“.
However, the type B virus “can re-infect people who have already had type A flu“, explained last week to AFP infectious disease specialist Benjamin Davido.
Bad news therefore for the French who thought they had finally “got rid” of the virus.
Flu: do you really need to get vaccinated?
It’s still important to get vaccinated if you haven’t already, according to Dr. Kierzek.
“It’s not too late to get vaccinated, even at the first symptoms. The vaccine reduces the severity of the disease, which is not negligible for people at risk.”
As for people already vaccinated, if they have the advantage of being already partially immunized, they can still benefit from a booster.
And for good reason : “It is possible to be re-infected by the flu virus, as it is possible to suffer from a viral co-infection“, recalls Dr. Kierzek.
Currently, the strain introduced in the influenza vaccine corresponds well to the B/Victoria strain.