Do you also wonder why the flu is so bad this year?

In recent weeks it has not far from having supplanted Covid-19 and bronchiolitis, which are very present this winter anyway. For the end of year holidays, the flu is everywhere and can hit us like never before, nailing us to bed with a fever of 39.5.

While the peak of doctor visits for flu-like syndromes has appeared in recent years rather between the end of January and the beginning of March, December 2022 marks a complete change that took everyone by surprise and hits vulnerable people even harder. According to data from Public Health France, at the beginning of the week there are +118% of hospitalizations and +84% of emergency visits. With a hospital system already under strain, as well as a strike by liberal doctors since Monday 26 December, emergency services have been hit hard.

The reasons for such a virulent flu

So what is this particularly virulent and above all very early flu epidemic due to? Low temperatures, even very low, closed, poorly ventilated places, a mask not worn indoors… and here is a combination that gives the ideal conditions for the transmission of a viral infection, say several specialists.

Furthermore, the presence of Covid-19 in the last two winters is not at all unrelated to the fact that the flu is in excellent shape this year. Integrated last Christmas then largely overlooked this year, barrier gestures could have perhaps avoided this flu wave if there had been a little less relaxation on this side. CNews estimates it Philippe Amouyel, professor of public health at the university hospital of Lille, and who adds: “This year we have a little less immune reactions that have occurred in the population, so that when the virus arrives, it circulates faster. The outbreak is early this year. »

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The seasonal flu vaccination lasts until January 31, 2023. It’s not too late to protect yourself by getting vaccinated now (and annually, if you wish). You can buy seasonal flu vaccine without a prescription at a pharmacy and have it injected by your doctor.