830 visits to emergency rooms, 191 hospitalizations in one week in Occitanie… the flu epidemic is raging in the region

Les trois quarts des personnes atteintes de formes graves de grippe ne sont pas vaccinées. Midi Libre – SYLVIE CAMBON

The regional health agency once again reports intense circulation of the virus and urges people to get vaccinated: three-quarters of people with severe forms have not taken the step, underlines the ARS.

“The flu is circulating intensely throughout the region and the epidemic is having a strong impact on our health system. To protect the most vulnerable, vaccination is still relevant and barrier gestures remain the right reflex to adopt for everyone”, recalls the regional health agency, in a press release calling for vigilance, while Occitanie is in a flu epidemic phase for the sixth consecutive week.

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“The flu epidemic is not over. As every year, it causes complications, serious cases and deaths. The flu-related hospitalization rate remains very high, last week 830 people went to the emergency room and 191 were hospitalized”, details the ARS, based on the report drawn up this week by Public Health France.

Consequence: “In medical practices, the number of consultations for flu or flu-like syndrome continues to increase. The number of grouped cases reported in medico-social establishments has also increased significantly in recent weeks. According to Public Health France, 6% of deaths in our region are linked to flu”, specifies the ARS.

The Bronchiolitis in the post-epidemic phase

Among the severe cases, three-quarters of the people concerned were not vaccinated, the agency reports, which reminds us that there is still time to protect yourself, until January 31, because the epidemic “usually lasts ten to twelve weeks”.

At the start of winter, barely 34.4% of the most vulnerable people, invited to be vaccinated, had followed the recommendations, compared to 35.2% at the national level. “Vaccination reduces the risk of serious complications or death,” emphasizes the ARS.

For bronchiolitis, on the other hand, “Occitanie is now in the post-epidemic phase”, indicates the ARS. According to Santé publique France, since the start of the epidemic, and on the basis of the “information transmitted by the pediatric resuscitation services of the Toulouse and Montpellier University Hospitals”, “25 serious cases of bronchiolitis” have been recorded with the following characteristics: 68% of boys, 52% of babies under 3 months and 40% of 3-11 months. One in five “had a comorbidity and/or prematurity, 25% had received preventive treatment”, but “a dose was missing”. None died.

While specific action plans have made it possible to mobilize new resources in health establishments, the situations are sometimes complicated: “Tensions persist in the establishments of our region, with territorial disparities”, indicates the ARS.