The flu epidemic, which has been particularly virulent this season, appears to have passed its peak in France after another week of slowdown, but remains strong and is still affecting all regions of mainland France, the public health agency said on Wednesday.
"In France, despite the continued decrease in indicators in all age groups, influenza activity remained intense" last week, according to a weekly report from Public Health France.
The flu epidemic has been severe since the beginning of winter, proving particularly deadly among the elderly and sending many children to hospital.
This situation is linked to several factors: three strains of the virus are circulating simultaneously and the vaccine has proven to be of little effectiveness, particularly in those over 65 where its effectiveness is now estimated at only 26%.
However, the epidemic has been losing intensity since the beginning of February, a situation that was confirmed last week on February 16, both in terms of consultations and hospitalizations. However, it remains very active, with a level of hospitalizations that remains "very high" among children.
All regions of mainland France remain affected by the epidemic, as well as, overseas, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Guyana and Mayotte.
In terms of mortality, the proportion of deaths with a mention of influenza is decreasing but remains “very high compared to previous epidemics”, according to Public Health France.
Among the 7,272 deaths reported by electronic certificate in the week of February 10 to 16, 5% were reported with a mention of influenza as having caused or contributed to the death, compared to 5.5% a week earlier.
"Given the low effectiveness of the flu vaccine in those aged 65 and over this season", the systematic adoption of barrier gestures within the general population remains essential to limit the circulation of respiratory viruses.
As for other epidemics, bronchiolitis, which mainly affects babies, is gradually disappearing – only Corsica remains in an epidemic situation in mainland France – and Covid is not circulating much.
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