A few weeks before the end of the year holidays, the flu has spread over a large part of France. According to the latest weekly bulletin from Public Health France published on December 7, 2022, 9 regions are now in the epidemic phase.
- 9 regions are in the epidemic phase for influenza and 4 are in the pre-epidemic phase.
- A very sharp increase in hospitalizations has been recorded, particularly among people aged 65 and over.
- At the beginning of December 2022, the influenza A (H3N2) virus is in the majority.
The flu tightens its grip on France. After Brittany and Normandy already classified in “epidemic phase” the last week of November, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Burgundy-Franche-Comté, Center-Val de Loire, Grand Est, Île-de- -France, Hauts-de-France and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur are also in the red at the start of December. Thus, 9 metropolitan regions are now affected by the flu epidemic.
Influenza: an “exceptionally early” epidemic
Public Health France warns against a “marked increase in influenza indicators in all age groups” between November 28 and December 4, 2022. The rate of consultations for flu-like illness (estimated from data from the Sentinelles network) was 201 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. This represents an increase of 39% compared to the previous week.
The health organization specifies that it is a “exceptionally early situation compared to previous seasons”marking “the start of the flu epidemic in mainland France”.
In addition to the nine metropolitan regions in the epidemic phase, Occitania, New Aquitaine, Pays de Loire and Corsica are in the pre-epidemic phase. The disease has also been very present in Martinique, Mayotte and Reunion for several weeks.
Influenza: a significant increase in hospitalizations, especially among seniors
The flu has also made its way into hospitals. The number of visits to the emergency room and hospitalizations were up very sharply with increases of +94% and +112% compared to the previous week. “This increase particularly concerned those over 15 and was highest among those aged 65 and over”, warns Public Health France. The elderly accounted for half of hospitalizations after going to the emergency room for influenza/influenza-like illness, and nearly half of serious cases of influenza admitted to intensive care.
“This sharp increase in hospitalizations for influenza/influenza-like illness among people aged 65 and over occurring in the current context of epidemic co-circulation of Sars-CoV-2, RSV and influenza A (H3N2) virus, must be monitored with attention over the next few weeks, due to the significant impact that these three viruses can have on this population at risk, both in terms of severity (hospitalizations and deaths) and overload of the healthcare offer”concludes the organization.
