The flu come. Slowly. According to the grog network for monitoring the influenza virus, it is mainly present, for the moment, in Lorraine. And it is precisely because the epidemic has not yet invaded French territory that the Health Insurance reminds people at risk, that it is important to surrender at this time (and before the virus spreads ) to the pharmacist to withdraw the influenza vaccine.
Who are the people at risk?
People over 65
Pregnant women from the second trimester of pregnancy
People with certain conditions listed above published in the Official Journal in June.
Obese people
People who stay in a follow-up care center
Health professionals.
If you are part of one of these groups, you have until January 31 to benefit from the seasonal flu vaccine free of charge. “Every year, the seasonal flu affects several million people in France and can prove to be fatal, especially in vulnerable people. However, last year, the vaccination coverage rate for people at risk was 51, 8% against 60.2% in 2009. This decline is a real risk for vulnerable subjects who must be protected from the severe complications that the influenza virus can cause “recalls the Health Insurance in its information campaign.
What if there was discomfort from the flu?
But why do some people still get the flu, while others never have a runny nose? A French researcher, Nicolas Dobigeon, lecturer at INP-ENSEEIHT in Toulouse, and American researchers have tried to find, what, in our genes, could explain why some people in contact with the influenza virus, immediately fall ill , and others do not.
They therefore inoculated the influenza virus into 17 healthy volunteers and at the end of the experiment, 9 volunteers fell ill and the others did not suffer from any symptoms. To explain this difference in the immune system’s response, the researchers took the blood of each of the patients to extract the genetic expressions. “The data collected, the first of its kind, provides a detailed map of the immune response of infected patients. These data explain how the immune system reacts and orchestrates its response to the influenza virus. underlying processes, the results suggest that over time, it may be possible to detect the disease early, allowing everyone to prevent symptoms.