THE ESSENTIAL
Beware of flu and bronchiolitis viruses. These two winter infections present numerous epidemic indicators on the rise in the country, according to the latest weekly report published by Santé Publique France, on December 11, 2024.
Flu: 3 new regions affected by the epidemic
Île-de-France, placed in the “epidemic” phase of the flu last week, was joined by Hauts-de-France, Normandy and Burgundy-Franche-Comté. The other metropolitan regions are in the pre-epidemic phase, with the exception of Corsica where the virus is still circulating very little.
“In France, flu/influenza syndrome indicators were sharply increasing in town and in hospitals, this increase concerned all age groups, but more particularly those under 15”specifies Public Health France in its report. Between December 2 and 8, 2024, the rate of consultations for influenza-like illness was 183 per 100,000 inhabitants compared to 127 per 100,000 inhabitants a week earlier.
Influenza treatment was also on the rise in hospitals. “This increase was mainly driven by those under 15.” In total, 3,502 visits to the emergency room concerned this pathology, or 1% of cases (vs. 0.6% 7 days earlier). The number of hospitalizations after an influenza-like illness was 466, or 0.7% of all hospitalizations (vs. 0.4% in W48).
Faced with this data, the organization estimated that the level of intensity at the hospital went from basic to low. On the other hand, that concerning the “city” remained weak. The agency also takes advantage of its bulletin to warn against co-circulation of viruses A (H1N1) and B.
Bronchiolitis: the majority of indicators on the rise
Bronchiolitis occurs throughout France with the exception of Réunion and Corsica. Among the 7,083 SOS Médecins medical procedures carried out for children under 2 years old between December 2 and 8, 8.6% were linked to bronchiolitis. In addition, 3,783 small patients who went to the emergency room were diagnosed with bronchiolitis. This represents 15.4% of passages in this age group. The number of hospitalizations after going to the emergency room for bronchiolitis was 1,210, or 31.1% of hospitalizations in this age group.
There were also 31 hospitalizations in the intensive care unit after going to the emergency room for bronchiolitis in children under 2 years old and 29 for babies under 1 year old. This represents respectively 40.3% and 50.9% of all hospitalizations in intensive care units for these ages.
