Covid, flu, bronchiolitis: good and bad news in new data for France

Flu is at epidemic levels almost everywhere, and Covid cases are increasing - but bronchiolitis is retreating, health figures in France show.

Health authority Santé publique France (SPF) released its latest weekly update on Wednesday, January 3.

Flu, Covid, and bronchiolitis have become known as the ‘triple epidemic’ because they tend to resurface each winter and can cause difficulties for hospitals if emergency units become too overloaded with cases.

Overall, SPF summarised: “Increasing activity in primary care and hospitals [for acute respiratory infections].”

Flu epidemic almost everywhere

The SPF warned that the final week of December had seen a “significant rise in flu epidemic indicators in France, especially in hospitals, with 10 regions at epidemic level”. This was true for all age groups, but especially for young people aged 0 to 14, and the elderly aged 65 and over.

All regions are now at epidemic level for flu, except Brittany, Normandy, and Pays de la Loire; but these latter three are at pre-epidemic level and expected to reach epidemic soon.

Covid cases up

Covid cases are continuing to rise, with a significant ‘wave’ recorded, SPF said, but cases are still nonetheless at lower levels than seen a few weeks ago (and the ‘peak’ seen in early December).

Cases of Covid have always been predicted to rise over the colder winter months (as with most respiratory illnesses), as it spreads more easily when people tend to gather in rooms without opening windows or doors.

As well as urging eligible people to get a vaccination or booster shot as soon as possible, SPF reiterated calls for people to “wear a mask - if they have symptoms - in crowded places and in the presence of vulnerable people”, to “wash hands, and air enclosed spaces regularly”.

Read more: Doctors concerned over low take-up of Covid and flu vaccines in France

Bronchiolitis past peak

In contrast, cases of bronchiolitis - a respiratory infection that mainly affects infants - are down, after having reached epidemic levels in previous weeks.

SPF said: “Emergency room visits and hospitalisations after emergency room visits for bronchiolitis in children under the age of two were down for the fourth week running, but remained at a high level.”

One region, Brittany, is the first to have passed into a ‘post-epidemic phase’ for bronchiolitis, the agency said.

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