three tips to avoid getting sick

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Only a few days left before the start of the school holidays and… Christmas: there is reason to rejoice! Unless we look at the latest epidemiological bulletin from Public Health France (SPF), dated December 11, 2024.

Since the beginning of November, France has experienced a gradual increase in cases of flu and bronchiolitis. With the end-of-year holidays fast approaching, it is better to be careful and avoid getting sick – at the risk of spoiling the reunion with loved ones…

Conditions conducive to epidemic resurgence

All of France is now on epidemic alert concerning bronchiolitis (except Corsica). For the flu, four metropolitan regions are in the epidemic phase, three territories more than at the start of the month – where only Île-de-France was affected by this red alert.

This epidemiological rebound concerns “all age groups”. Nothing surprising: both the flu and bronchiolitis are highly contagious diseaseswhich are transmitted by direct contact (spittle, cough, etc.) or via surfaces “contaminated by saliva”, details Health Insurance.

So, when we evolve on a daily basis in enclosed and quickly crowded spacessuch as classrooms, playgrounds, sports halls, public transport or even work offices… We risk falling ill more easily.

Especially when temperatures drop day after day. “The cold season acts as an enhancer of transmission of respiratory viruses”, opines withactu.fr Professor Antoine Flahault, epidemiologist and director of the Institute of Global Health at the University of Geneva.

Children, vectors of epidemiological rebound

Through their social mixing, children are also particularly affected by the resurgence of influenza and bronchiolitis. Today, they represent “more than half of influenza infections”, figures Professor Antoine Flahaut.

It is these groups in society that start and then spread seasonal flu epidemics throughout the rest of the population.

Let us not place all the blame on the youngest either: the decline in seasonal vaccination and the end of respect for barrier gestures (to which we became very accustomed during the Covid period) are also responsible for this explosion in cases of flu and bronchiolitis.

Tips to avoid getting sick again

Leaving an enclosed space that carries disease to find another, with family, at Christmas… Not necessarily a good idea either. So as much avoid getting sick right now, on the eve of the end-of-year holidays, by taking a few precautions.

• Better ventilation

First recommendation from Professor Flahault: vtake care to ventilate the premises well in which we evolve on a daily basis. Ideally, this ventilation can be measured “continuously by a CO2 sensor indicating a concentration below 800 ppm in all enclosed places open to the public”.

If we breathed indoor air of better microbiological quality we would also significantly reduce the impact of these epidemics.

If the premises are too poorly or poorly ventilated, it is advisable to wear a protective mask “when you spend an hour or more there”. THE FFP2 masks are particularly effective, underlines Professor Flahault actu.fr.

Last measure to limit risks: have a up-to-date vaccination schedule. For bronchiolitis, “the flu vaccine (or the bronchiolitis vaccine, Editor’s note) is very effective against severe forms of these infections, particularly in people at risk,” insists the epidemiologist.

When children and young people are (massively) vaccinated against influenza, we can hope to reduce the spread of epidemics in the population. But it is rarely practiced.

To understand everything about vaccination against bronchiolitis, you can consult this dedicated Health Insurance page.
Concerning the flu, the composition of the vaccine is updated each year, because the virus evolves seasonally: it is therefore necessary to receive a new injection every year to be protected. More information on the Health Insurance website.

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