Key Points

In Nouvelle-Aquitaine: the bronchiolitis outbreak continues, with high activity in week 50 of 2021.

The bronchiolitis outbreak, which began early in week 41 (October 11–17, 2021), has been ongoing for 10 weeks in the region. In week 50 of 2021, bronchiolitis activity remained stable according to data from hospital emergency departments and the SOS Médecins network, but remains at a high level in the region.

In week 50 of 2021 (December 13–19, 2021):

• 361 emergency department visits were recorded, representing 20.1% of activity among children under 2 years of age (compared to 19.6% in week 49), of which 168 were followed by hospitalization, representing 46.5% of bronchiolitis cases

• The proportion of bronchiolitis cases among hospitalizations for children under 2 remains high (43.2% in week 50 compared to 38.1% in week 49); 93% involve children under 1 year of age

• 93 SOS Médecins* consultations were recorded, representing 8.2% of cases involving children under 2 years of age, which is a high level

• Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) circulation remains very active nationwide

At the regional level, circulation remains active in all departments; a downward trend is observed in the departments of Landes, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, and Dordogne.