Key points

In Nouvelle-Aquitaine: End of the bronchiolitis outbreak

The region was declared to have entered the post-epidemic phase in week 02-2022 following the decline in indicators observed since early December 2021. In week 04-2022, healthcare utilization for bronchiolitis among children under two continued to decline and reached a low level, with, at the same time, less active circulation of RSV in the region.

In week 04-2022 (January 24–30, 2022):

• 94 emergency department visits were recorded, representing 6.1% of activity among children under 2 years of age (compared to 8.9% in week 03), of which 49 were followed by hospitalization, representing 52.1% of bronchiolitis cases.

• Bronchiolitis accounted for 15.4% of hospitalizations among children under 2 years of age (compared to 19.5% in week 03); the majority involved children under 1 year of age.

• 33 SOS Médecins consultations were recorded, representing 3.8% of activity involving children under 2 years of age (compared to 5.6% in week 03);

• Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) continues to be detected by university hospital virology laboratories, with the proportion of RSV-positive samples remaining stable according to the Bordeaux University Hospital and decreasing according to data from the Limoges University Hospital.

At the regional level, emergency department visits for bronchiolitis are low to moderate across all departments.