News as of July 5, 2012

The Aquitaine Regional Health Agency (Cire Aquitaine) and the Bordeaux Poison Control and Toxicovigilance Center (CAPTV), in collaboration with the Aquitaine Regional Health Agency (ARS Aquitaine) and the Republican Security Companies (CRS), are continuing their surveillance of jellyfish stings along the Aquitaine coast this year (Physatox project). This initiative, active from July 1 to August 31, 2012, relies on case reporting by a sentinel network of beach lifeguard stations spread across the region’s three coastal departments. The main objectives of this system are to alert authorities to the first cases of poisoning, describe the dynamics of the outbreak, and identify the characteristics of the cases. This surveillance should help strengthen preventive measures and optimize the initial management of cases. Weekly feedback will be provided in the Cire’s Point Epidémio. Since July 1, no cases of jellyfish stings have been reported in Aquitaine. Trends in indicators for the week of June 25, 2012, to July 1, 2012

• Allergies: moderate activity

• Heat-related illnesses: moderate activity

• Illnesses: moderate activity

• Reportable diseases: no specific changes to note

• Deaths: no unusual increase observed

• Private practice and hospital emergency department activity: stable for SOS Médecins and in emergency departments

• Weather data: Minimum and maximum air temperatures below alert thresholds for all departments in the region.