As every year, Public Health France publishes its annual winter surveillance report. The latest edition published on April 30, reports a ” historical decline »Cases of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) never observed over the past ten years in France.
A historic decline never observed over the past ten years
Covering the period from November 2019 to April 2020, the annual winter surveillance report prepared by Public Health France indicates that the acute gastroenteritis virus, which generates between 1 and 4 million consultations in general medicine each year, has counted only 145,000 in 2020.
Indeed, ” the proportion of emergency room visits for gastroenteritis fell sharply at the start of 2020 to reach historically low levels and then stabilize at 0.5% of activity from April 2020 Explains the report. According to data from the Sentinels Network, the 2019-2020 winter season was characterized by the lowest cumulative incidence rate of acute diarrhea cases seen in general practice over the last 10 seasons.
A peak in the number of cases observed during the end-of-year celebrations
Only the period at the end of December 2019-beginning of January 2020 saw an upsurge in the number of cases followed by a strong increase in visits to hospital emergencies and general medicine above the peaks of the previous 7 seasons. According to specialists, this peak coincided with a “significant and unusual occurrence of collective food poisoning” in connection with ” consumption of contaminated oysters that occurred in 2019 during the end-of-year celebrations “.
A drop in cases linked to the barrier measures introduced with the Covid-19 pandemic
According to Public Health France, this historic decrease in epidemic activity for acute gastroenteritis in France is explained by the measures imposed and the barrier gestures implemented in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, in particular hand hygiene, physical distancing and confinements. For Marie-Christine Ricard Hibert, pediatrician in Carcassonne, “ The barrier gestures obviously had a very beneficial effect. […] In fact, rotavirus, one of the main viruses that causes gastroenteritis, is transmitted only through the hands. But confinement also played a role: more travel by train, plane or car, so more breaks in the motorway areas where changing tables are real sources of contamination. “.
Beyond the cases of acute gastroenteritis, other respiratory pathologies such as influenza or bronchiolitis have also experienced sharp decreases with the appearance of Covid-19.
