Key Points

In Nouvelle-Aquitaine, the 2018–2019 flu season was brief, beginning in week 2 of 2019 and peaking in week 6 of 2019. The intensity of the epidemic was high in hospitals and among patients seen at SOS-Médecins clinics. The epidemic was characterized by the almost exclusive circulation of the A virus, with co-circulation of the A(H1N1)pdm09 and A(H3N2) viruses. It lasted until week 10 of 2019, for a total of 9 weeks.

Key figures (W40-2018 to W15-2019)

• In Nouvelle-Aquitaine, over the entire surveillance period, 0.8% (n=6,248) of emergency department visits were recorded for influenza-like illness, and approximately 24.8% of individuals treated for influenza were hospitalized, which is higher than the previous season (20.8% in 2017–2018). Among these hospitalized cases, 64% were over 65 years of age.

• During the epidemic period, 18,895 influenza-related procedures were performed by SOS-Médecins, representing 6.3% of total activity during this period.

• During this period, 215 influenza cases were hospitalized in the region’s intensive care units.

• The proportion of influenza-positive samples out of the total number of samples tested varied over time by laboratory, reaching 34% in week 6 of 2019 in Bordeaux, 40% in week 7 of 2019 in Poitiers, and 44% in week 7 of 2019 in Limoges.

• During the surveillance period, 151 acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in long-term care facilities (LTCFs) were reported.