in the middle of Christmas, the flu is wreaking havoc in France

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“On New Year’s Eve, everyone was in bed by 7:30 p.m. » In this Breton family, there was no excess for Christmas, and there was no lack of desire. The cause was the flu epidemic which devastated everyone: the two children, the parents and the grandmother. “We were all bedridden for a week, including the baby. »

“Laid in bed three days in a row, with fever peaks above 40°C”

As the health authorities remind us, the flu is actively circulating throughout France at the end of December 2024. All regions have also gone on red alert, according to the latest bulletin from Public Health France, published Thursday 26. Medical procedures and hospitalizations linked to influenza-like illness are all increasing sharply and in all age groups.

Charlie, 37, was infected by his five-year-old daughter, who was probably infected at school in mid-December, where many cases of flu were reported. “She was in bed three days in a row, with fever peaks of over 40°C,” he explains. “She got so hot the first day that she vomited all day. »

Sick, despite the vaccine

Two days later, it was the dad who was infected. “Like my daughter, I was knocked out for several days, with cold sweats, body aches, dry cough and a terrible cold. » Then the 72-year-old grandmother who came to spend the holidays with the family caught the virus in turn. “Fortunately, she, who is at risk, is vaccinated against the flu. As one doctor said, she probably avoided hospitalization, but I've never seen her so sick. »

As SPF points out, hospitalizations after visits to the emergency room mainly concern people aged 65 and over (58% of hospitalizations for acute respiratory infection). The week of December 16, more than a hundred elderly people (108, out of 122 people in total) died from the flu.

Two days after my mother, it was my partner who fell ill. On Christmas Eve, we were all exhausted. Given our state, we opened the presents the next day.

The six-month-old baby was infected last. “Since he was breastfed, we thought he would pass through the drops. His fever spiked suddenly, he really scared us. »

One to two weeks to heal

All five members of the family were infected within 10 days. More than two weeks after the first contamination, three of them are still very ill, especially the baby. “The worst part is that for all of us, the symptoms almost disappeared on the third day, only to return even more violently on the fifth day. »

According to Public Health France, most people with the flu recover within one to two weeks without medical treatment. However, “the flu can cause serious complications in people at risk (elderly people or people weakened by a chronic illness, pregnant women or even premature infants)”.

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