Headlines - Health Impact of the Recent Cold Snap

A cold snap hit the Burgundy and Franche-Comté regions from February 1 to 13, 2012, with temperatures falling into the severe cold category (minimum wind chill between -10°C and -18°C and maximum below 0°C) and at times in the extreme cold category (minimum wind chill below -18°C and maximum below 0°C). Extreme cold conditions prevailed in Pontarlier from February 3 to 13, and periods of severe cold were often close to extreme cold.These weather conditions are likely to cause immediate and/or delayed (up to three weeks) health consequences: frostbite (superficial frostbite, frostbite with tissue necrosis, frostbite affecting multiple body parts without specification), hypothermia, asthma and status asthmaticus, Raynaud’s syndrome up to day +1, angina pectoris, cardiac arrhythmias, pulmonary embolisms up to day +2, carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning up to day +3, cerebral and cardiac ischemia up to day +10, respiratory conditions (pneumonia) up to day +21. This health impact can be assessed by the InVS using medical data from emergency department visits (Sursaud®) and CO poisoning data from the Poison Control and Toxicovigilance Centers (CAPTV).In Burgundy and Franche-Comté, surveillance of conditions directly linked to cold weather shows an increase in the number of visits for hypothermia to the emergency departments of facilities participating in the Sursaud® network during weeks 5–6, which is consistent with what would be expected in a winter context with such a drop in temperatures. A peak in trauma cases was observed on February 12 in an emergency department in the Jura region. Furthermore, the Cire has observed limited increases over the past three weeks; however, these preceded the cold snap for cardiovascular conditions and coincided with the onset of the flu epidemic for respiratory conditions. Cases of CO poisoning recorded by the Regional Health Agencies (Siroco) have increased as usual this winter, without a surge attributable to the period of extreme cold.Finally, an increase in emergency room admissions among those aged 75 and older has been observed in France, particularly in the south, but remains relatively moderate in Burgundy (+21% in week 7 of February 13 compared to the two preceding weeks) and in Franche-Comté (+6%). Analysis of the Sursaud® indicators therefore shows no particular impact of this exceptional cold spell in our two regions and will remain limited regarding the potential impact on respiratory conditions due to the emergence of the flu epidemic since last week.