The winter flu epidemic intensified in cities in France and generated a “very high hospital activity” and one “clear increase in deaths” the second week of the year, announced Public Health France, Wednesday January 15.
The week from January 6 to 12 was marked by a “marked severity of the epidemic”which reached a “high level of intensity in all age groups”according to the weekly bulletin published by the health agency.
The dynamics diverge according to age groups: influenza has progressed in primary care among those under 65, particularly children; it slowed slightly among people aged 65 and over.
611 deaths over one week
In hospitals, visits to emergency rooms and hospitalizations of children under 5 years old for flu or influenza-like illness have increased significantly. But those of people in all other age groups have fallen, while remaining at “a very high level of intensity”.
The share of deaths with a mention of flu among all electronically certified deaths continued to increase (7.3%, compared to 5.9% the previous week), “indicating a marked severity of the epidemic”. This represents 611 deaths in the week ending January 12.
This share of deaths due to influenza even climbs to 12.4% in Burgundy-Franche-Comté, 9.4% in the Grand-Est, 9.2% in Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur and 7.9%. in Hauts-de-France and the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, said the health agency.
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