Key Points

ENT Conditions

• An increase in ENT conditions is typically observed at the start of the school year in hospital emergency departments and at SOS Médecins. In S39, among children under 5 years of age, ENT conditions accounted for 13.5% of emergency department visits and 58.0% of SOS Médecins consultations. High detection rates of rhinoviruses and enteroviruses by the virology laboratories at the University Hospitals of Brest and Rennes (positivity rates of 20.4% (28/137) and 19.5% (16/82), respectively).

COVID-19

• The upward trend continues, similar to that observed in September 2024, though remaining at lower levels. The virology laboratories at the Rennes University Hospital and the Brest University Hospital have also observed an increase in SARS-CoV-2-positive samples since September.

Emergency Rooms and SOS Médecins Consultations

• Stability in the number of emergency department visits (-0.6%, or -109 visits) and an increase in the number of SOS Médecins consultations for all causes (+2.0%, or +102 consultations) during Week 39 compared to Week 38. The volumes of emergency room visits and SOS Médecins consultations (all causes) are similar to observations from previous years, for the same period and all ages, and follow the same trends. There is still higher activity among those aged 75 and older in hospital emergency rooms and at SOS Médecins.

Asthma at the Start of the School Year

• High activity. Stable emergency room visits across all age groups. Continued increase in SOS Médecins consultations.

• An increase in emergency room visits and SOS Médecins consultations for asthma attacks, as well as ENT conditions, is expected among children under 15 in the two weeks following the start of the school year, every year.