Gastro is everywhere. The epidemic peak has been exceeded in several regions of France. How to protect yourself effectively?
Like every winter, gastroenteritis is at the rendezvous. This year, the epidemic threshold has been exceeded in several regions of France, including Pays-de-la-Loire (254 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur (187 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) and the Grand Est (178 cases per 100,000 inhabitants).
According to data from Sentinels networkin December, “the median age of the cases was 28 years (from 2 months to 96 years). Men represented 45% of the cases. percentage of hospitalization was estimated at 0.9%.
“The level of acute diarrhea activity should remain stable over the coming weeks, remaining below the epidemic threshold in the coming weeks”, predicts the Sentinelles network.
Tips and Precautions
Acute gastroenteritis is an inflammation of the lining of the digestive tract responsible for diarrhea and frequently abdominal pain and vomiting. It is most often viral and therefore very contagious. It can also be bacterial or parasitic. In the event of contamination, know that it is not good to resume a collective activity too soon. Even after the symptoms have subsided, it is still possible to transmit the virus, whether at nursery, at school or at work.
The Australian Department of Health recommends staying home for at least 24 hours after the last vomiting or diarrhea. In France, health insurance recommends for viral gastroenteritis a three days off work, to be adapted according to the severity of the symptoms.
These tips are based on the most common viral gastroenteritis, norovirus. In this specific case, the highest rate of excretion in the stool occurs 24 to 48 hours after all symptoms have disappeared, and then decreases rapidly. Some people will therefore no longer be contagious after 24 hours. But to be completely certain of not contaminating anyone, all patients should resume their collective activities 48 hours after the end of symptoms.
Some rules should, however, allow you to slip through the cracks. The first, which seems logical but which we may tend to forget: wash our hands with soap very frequently, especially as soon as we get home, after taking transport, before eating and after going in the toilet. You should also avoid sharing your glass and cutlery at the table, regularly clean the surfaces touched by everyone in a house such as toilets, sinks or door handles!
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