2023-09-25 18:31:00
Just a year ago, France entered an eighth wave of Covid. Didier Jaffre, director of the regional health agency, calls for vigilance while indicators are increasing, 2,550 cases were recorded last week in Occitanie. The vaccination campaign, which targets those over 65 and the most vulnerable, has been brought forward to October 2.
“Epidemic indicators are on the rise, now is the time to get vaccinated”: Didier Jaffre, director of the Occitanie health agency, launched, this Monday, September 25, a “call for vigilance in the face of the return of Covid, during a press conference dedicated to the prevention of winter illnesses, Covid, but also flu and bronchiolitis.
Concerning Covid, the ARS reminds that you must “put on a mask in case of symptoms to protect yourself and to protect the most vulnerable”, people at risk, pregnant women and those over 65 will be able to be vaccinated at from October 2.
“All health professionals vaccinate”, reminds the ARS: doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists.
“No serious form”
Didier Jaffre indicates that “2,550 cases of Covid were recorded in one week, in mid-September”: “We are not in the same situation as last year but the figures are increasing”. In 2022, at the same time, France was plunging into an eighth wave of Covid which, combined with epidemics and bronchiolitis, would put hospital organizations under pressure at the end of the year. “Today, there is no serious form,” reassures the ARS.
Infectious disease specialist at Nîmes University Hospital, Dr Paul Loubet confirms the situation: “We had 10% of positive tests upon entering the hospital at the end of August, 20% today, patients do not always have symptoms”, indicates the doctor, who specifies that only one patient is today hospitalized in his department for a Covid infection.
“For the past year, we no longer have the “historical” forms of the disease, with pneumonia, but an infection can be the trigger for complications.” If wearing a mask is not obligatory at the CHU, “faced with the acceleration of the circulation of the virus, caregivers are wearing masks again”, specifies the doctor.
“Degraded” monitoring of the progression of contamination
“Recourses for suspected Covid-19 are increasing among those under 75 in SOS Médecins associations and among 2-14 year olds in emergencies,” indicated last week, Public health France in an inventory in mid-September.
Among children (2-14 years old), there were 212 visits to the emergency room from September 11 to 17, + 16% compared to the previous week. A new report is expected this Monday, September 25.
“We cannot say exactly where the epidemic is or how it is progressing. There is clearly under-detection,” however, believes Mircea Sofonéa, epidemiologist in the “Infectious Diseases” laboratory at the University of Montpellier, who believes that the monitoring of the epidemic is today “degraded”, due to lack of suitable resources.
The dominant virus is EG.5, and even EG.5.1, “Eris”, a sub-variant of Omicron about which little is known: “There is no sign that it is more virulent, which itself does not mean much in terms of health impact, it is the virulence/contagiousness couple that matters. According to a Nordic study, the symptoms mainly affect the ENT sphere.
“Will the French respond to the call to be vaccinated? Last year, there were half as many of them vaccinated against Covid compared to the flu, among the target population,” insists the searcher.
Flu, bronchiolitis, HPV, mosquitoes, cancer screening… other fall concerns
Prevention is one of the obsessions of the regional health agency, in a region which is not necessarily a good student on the subject.
Didier Jaffre, director of the ARS, recalled the autumn deadlines, “on the eve of the usual winter epidemics”. The flu vaccination campaign starts on October 17, and “we can be vaccinated against the flu and against Covid on the same day”.
It’s also the time to protect your baby against bronchiolitis, with “for the first time, an effective solution”: last summer, the High Health Authority gave the green light to Beyfortus, a monoclonal antibody aimed at preventing bronchiolitis. bronchiolitis, which affects 30% of children under two years old. “We have a huge demand from parents,” indicates Didier Jaffre, who recalls that in 2022, “5,783 children under the age of two were admitted to an emergency department in Occitanie for bronchiolitis, 2,177 children were hospitalized” .
Until November, we must also remain attentive to diseases transmitted by the tiger mosquito (dengue fever, chikungunya): 92 imported cases and 11 indigenous cases have already been recorded this year (respectively 56 and 12 in 2022). “We are one of the regions most affected by global warming,” underlines the ARS.
Finally Pink October, breast cancer screening awareness month for women aged 50 to 74 is fast approaching, Occitanie records 4900 new cases per year, and 1000 deaths but only “one in two women participate in screening” .
Also in October, the invitation to screening against papillomavirus, responsible for 6,400 new cases of cervical cancer each year. 70,000 5th grade middle school students are invited to be vaccinated, 6,600 parents have already given their agreement.
In November, it will be tobacco-free month, which is involved in 7,000 deaths per year in the region. In Occitania, 30% of the population smokes.
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