![The chickenpox epidemic is spreading across the country](https://img.passeportsante.net/1000x526/2017-03-27/i80300-l-epidemie-de-varicelle-s-installe-sur-tout-le-territoire.jpg)
March 27, 2017.
Chickenpox arrives with spring. The Sentinel Network notes a large influx of cases of chickenpox among practitioners, particularly in certain regions already classified as high incidence zones.
“Moderate to heavy” activity in many regions
Chickenpox seems to have settled in France. In recent days, pediatricians and general practitioners have been receiving more and more small patients with the characteristic signs of this minor childhood disease: a fever over 38 °, many red spots that will soon turn into vesicles filled with fluid and itching.
The Sentinels Network, which follows the evolution of epidemics throughout the territory, observed a situation qualified as “moderate to strong” in the week of March 13 to 19, 2017. In some departments, the activity of chickenpox begins to be quick, sign that the contagion phenomenon is in full swing in nurseries and schools.
700,000 people contract chickenpox each year
” Eight regional outbreaks were observed “And show strong activity in recent days, indicates the organization, which notes that it is in Pays-de-la-Loire that the rate of chickenpox in relation to the number of inhabitants is the highest (74 cases). Next come Île-de-France (50 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), New Aquitaine (49 cases), Grand-Est (47 cases), Hauts-de-France (40 cases). The activity of chickenpox is also considered to be moderate in three other regions: in Brittany (37 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), in Corde (35 cases) and in Occitanie (27 cases).
Every year, chickenpox affects around 700,000 people, especially children under 5 years old. While this disease is mild in children, it can be much more dangerous for older people. Adolescents and adults, particularly sensitive audiences such as women who are in the process of having children or immunocompromised people, are encouraged to be vaccinated, so as not to run the risk of contracting chickenpox which, in some cases, can even be fatal.
Sybille Latour
For more information: Symptoms and people at risk of chickenpox