More than 400 cases of measles have been declared in France since January 1. An epidemic could well resurface, according to Public Health France.
Measles has a bright future ahead of it. After a year of lull, the virus is gaining ground in France. Between January and July, more than 400 people were infected. In particular, an epidemic which occurred during the month of May. This upsurge alarm Public Health France, at the origin of this report. Last year, only 79 cases had been identified.
It must be said that measles is active and virulent. A total of 168 patients were hospitalized with the infection – most often with severe lung disease. Proof that the virus does not distinguish between its victims, a 16-year-old girl died of severe complications in July. Unvaccinated, she had no medical history.
Source : Public health France
Most of the time, it is young children who bear the brunt of the infection. Infants under 1 year old and children 1 to 4 years old are among the main reported cases. Adolescents aged 15 to 19 follow, further on.
Still endemic
Gathering areas appear to be more prone to measles transmission. Nurseries, schools and universities are among the privileged places of contamination, as are communities of precarious populations. Given the high circulation of the virus, Public Health France considers it necessary to prepare for an outbreak.
“The current epidemiology of measles shows that France is still endemic to the infection and is not immune to a new large-scale epidemic”, analyzes the national agency of public health. In fact, the diagnoses are distributed rather homogeneously over the territory.
Source : Public health France
The scenario of an epidemic is all the more credible when the vaccination coverage is too low. Only 79% of 2-year-old babies are vaccinated. It would take 95% to prevent the virus from circulating.
10 deaths in 10 years
In view of these indicators, Public Health France recommends that health professionals be vigilant. When faced with measles, the immunization schedule for relatives must be systematically checked. If the schedule is incomplete, catch-up vaccination or post-exposure prophylaxis will help stop the spread of the virus.
The goal: to prevent an epidemic like the one in 2011 from happening again. In the space of a year, more than 15,000 people had been infected. Dark year, since 10 deaths were recorded.
France is far from isolated in the face of this resurgence of measles. Our Italian, Belgian and German neighbors have faced a sharp rise in cases. So much so that Italy has chosen to reinstate the vaccination obligation. Further east, Romania must also fight a very active epidemic.
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