2024-03-20 02:30:05
The flu vaccination campaign is coming to an end, it will end on April 1st. Volunteers therefore have around ten days left to protect themselves against the disease, particularly vulnerable people, even if according to the health monitoring office, the epidemic is on a downward slope. During this year’s peak, there were 30 cases per week, today it is 7 cases per week.
Kilinahe and his grandmother come for a doctor’s consultation. They both cough and think they have the flu. “The little one left for school this morning, then they called us to come [la chercher], That’s why we came to see you.”underlines the grandmother.
“I cough a lot, my voice is broken, I have a cold, dit Kilinahe, I think it was from Friday… I think it’s the flu.”.
However, if she does not have a fever, she is not necessarily carrying the influenza virus. “It’s difficult to tell the difference. With the flu, the No. 1 criterion is the high temperature…it goes up to 39-40°C, the flu, like a bad dengue fever. People who have had the flu for the first time readily compare it to dengue fever, which is why it is difficult in the first days of symptoms to distinguish between dengue fever and flu.”explains Doctor Didier Bondoux, president of the union of general practitioners.
The number of cases is decreasing. • ©Polynesia the 1st
Currently, despite a few hospitalizations, the epidemic is in a declining phase. Health monitoring confirms around 7 cases/week in March, compared to 25 during the peak in December. “The flu season in Polynesia corresponds relative to the season that we see in the United States or France, during winter in the north. For the moment, our figures show that we are on a downward slope. We’re seeing a lot fewer cases every week.”notes Doctor André Wattiau, head of the health center within the BVSO.
The vaccine, mainly offered to vulnerable people, over 60 years old or suffering from co-morbidities, is still available until April 1. The next vaccination campaign will take place in October.
In addition to vaccination, the adoption of barrier measures, such as wearing a mask, can limit the transmission of the virus.
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