Flu epidemic actively spreading in southwest France and Paris area

Five regions in total are seeing more cases with slightly more people going to hospital than last week

The flus is actively spreading in five French regions
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Flu cases are rising in five different regions of France, as the epidemic plateaus or declines elsewhere, the latest health bulletin shows.

The virus is actively spreading in Centre-Val de Loire, Ile-de-France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Occitanie and Pays de la Loire, waning in Brittany and stable in the other regions.

All of metropolitan France is at the height of its epidemic phase, while overseas departments are either pre-epidemic or are not experiencing an epidemic at all.

On a national scale, the number of people going to their GP with flu-like symptoms is 247 per 100,000, down 14% on last week.

However, the number of people going to A&E has risen by 2%, with hospital admissions up 3%.

Since the beginning of this year’s flu season, there have been 321 serious cases of flu treated in intensive care, including 21 admitted last week.

The intensity of this year’s epidemic is ‘moderate’ in comparison to that of 2014-15 and 2018-19.

It is estimated that 52.6% of vulnerable people have been vaccinated against the flu, including 56.8% of over-65s and 34.3% of at-risk under-65s.

These figures suggest a vaccination coverage which is superior to that observed in 2019-20, but slightly inferior to that of 2020-21.

You can find out more on the Santé publique France website.

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