The number of cases of chickenpox in France is slowing down and the number of affected regions is declining. However, getting vaccinated remains important for adults.
The chickenpox epidemic continues in France. In its latest bulletin, the Sentinels network reports that virus activity is still strong. Twelve regions are concerned, mainly in the north of France.
The Sentinelles network identifies 44 cases of chickenpox per 100,000 French people. The evolution of the epidemic stabilizes compared to the previous week, and the number of affected regions is declining. Twelve regional hotbeds of strong activity were observed. These are Champagne-Ardenne, Corsica, Haute-Normandie, Ile-de-France, Franche-Comté, Brittany, Basse-Normandie and Midi-Pyrénées and moderate in Provence-Alpes-Côte-d’Azur, Rhône-Alpes and Lorraine. The Pays-de-la-Loire region remains by far the most affected, with 104 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Source : Sentinel Network
The chickenpox epidemic must urge parents to be extremely careful, and not just to protect their offspring. Each year, this highly contagious disease affects 32,000 adults. However, after 14 years, the risk of complications – especially varicella pneumonia – is greatly increased. A danger that particularly concerns fragile people, namely pregnant women and immunocompromised people.
A vaccine protects adults, recommended by the vaccination schedule for people in good health but in contact with sick people. “Following the vaccine recommendations would prevent a quarter of infections by the chickenpox virus occurring in adults”, underlines the National Institute of Health and Medical Research (Inserm) on its site.
If every adult who did not have chickenpox as a child were immunized quickly after exposure to the virus, a quarter of annual infections could be prevented. “Post-exposure vaccination of adults would also make it possible to reduce the number of hospitalizations following the disease by 31%,” concludes Inserm.
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