Key Points

• Activity related to influenza and flu-like syndromes remains low for both SOS Médecins indicators and emergency department data. This condition thus accounts for less than 1% of cases handled by SOS Médecins associations in Alsace and less than 0.5% of those seen in emergency departments. According to data from the virology laboratory at the Strasbourg University Hospitals (HUS), the virus has been detected only sporadically so far (2 cases in week 41).

• Surveillance of severe influenza cases hospitalized in intensive care began in week 45. Its rationale, objectives, and methodology are described on page 3. To date, no severe cases have been reported in Alsace. Only one case has been reported in mainland France.

• In week 45, the number of bronchiolitis diagnoses in children under two years of age remains close to those observed in the previous two weeks (between 13 and 15 weekly diagnoses) and accounts for 6% of the activity of healthcare providers for this age group. Regarding emergency department activity, diagnoses of bronchiolitis remain few. In week 45, less than 5% of emergency department activity was related to this condition.

• Regarding respiratory viruses detected by the HUS virology laboratory, RSV began to be isolated in weeks 43 and 44 but remains at low levels. Rhinoviruses and enteroviruses are currently the most commonly detected.

• The increase in the number of weekly diagnoses of gastroenteritis and diarrhea continued in week 45 for the SOS Médecins d’Alsace associations, with these conditions accounting for 12.7% of their activity. Gastroenteritis is thus the most frequently diagnosed condition for the second consecutive week. However, this trend is not observed in Alsace’s emergency departments, where the number of diagnoses for these conditions remains stable compared to last week (76 diagnoses in week 44 and 74 in week 45).

• In weeks 43 and 44, the number of positive test results for enteric viruses at the HUS virology laboratory has been rising slowly. All types of viruses (rotavirus, norovirus, and adenovirus) have been identified, but noroviruses are the most common.

• According to available data, no unusual increase in mortality has been observed in Alsace over the past few weeks. Since the delay in reporting death data exceeds 7 days, data for week 45 are currently being consolidated.