Until now spared from influenza and bronchiolitis epidemics, the overseas departments and regions have moved into the pre-epidemic or epidemic phase over the past three weeks. Only Reunion Island is not yet completely impacted.
France sees red. This is the impression that emerges from the maps of epidemics of acute respiratory infections, overseas included. The flu is spreading more and more across the Atlantic, as noted by Public Health France.
Are in epidemic phase Guadeloupe et Saint Barthélemy since the end of December and Martinique since the week of December 16 to 22. Next Guyana et Saint-Martin which have just entered the pre-epidemic phase at the end of December.
The only region preserved for the moment is Reunionwhich even sees visits to emergency rooms for flu-like illness decrease between the last two weeks of December. As for the data on Mayotteravaged by the passage of Cyclone Chido in mid-December, they are not known.
In the Pacific, the Directorate of Health and Social Affairs (DASS) of New Caledonia does not speak of an epidemic phase in its latest epidemiological bulletin of December 22, 2024. However, it notes, after a “heavy traffic in October“, “a notable persistence of influenza viruses, an unusual phenomenon for this time of year, with an increase in the number of cases since December“.
In French Polynesia, “cases of flu have been reported in recent weeks, varying between 1 and 5 cases. At the moment, no upward trend is detected“, specifies the latest health surveillance bulletin on data from the end of December.
For the bronchiolitis epidemic, it is present in almost all territories but has sometimes been present for much longer. In detail, she manages to Reunion which remains for the moment in the pre-epidemic phase: even if the health indicators (emergency room visits, hospitalizations, etc.) “remain at a high level“, they are however stable.
Mayotte has been confronted with the epidemic since the beginning of December, Guadeloupe and the Martinique since the end of October and the Guyana since the end of July according to Public Health France. Regional data nevertheless show differences: in Martinique, the positivity rate remains high, while in Guadeloupe, hospital indicators are decreasing.
The island of Saint-Martin is preserved with low and stable indicators and Saint Barthélemy did not record any consultations or visits to the emergency room for bronchiolitis.
In the Pacific, health authorities do not give the number of cases of bronchiolitis but cite the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), the main cause of bronchiolitis in infants and certain serious acute respiratory infections (ARI) in fragile adults.
In New Caledonia, the VRS circulation peaks were rather at the start of 2024 (between the end of February and March). In Polynesia, the bulletin indicates that overall, the proportion and number of consultations for ARI are decreasing, but that RSV is increasing in the last week of December.
Public Health France encourages “all eligible people“to get vaccinated to protect yourself and”protect those around them“. Are particularly concerned “people aged 65 and over, people aged over 6 months with comorbidities with a high risk of severe disease, immunocompromised people or even pregnant women“.
For newborns, it is also possible to protect them either by vaccinating the future pregnant mother, or by injecting an antibody into infants under six months of age, particularly against bronchiolitis.
The health agency also reminds that it remains essential to maintain the reflex of barrier gestures: washing hands, ventilating rooms and wearing a mask in the event of symptoms (fever, sore throat or cough), in busy places and in the presence of vulnerable people.
