Key Points

COVID-19

Comparison of the severity of infections linked to the Omicron and Delta variants

A cohort study comparing the severity of infections linked to the Delta and Omicron variants was published by Santé
publique France.

Covering the period from December 6, 2021, to January 28, 2022, the results showed that the risk of experiencing a serious hospital event was lower for people infected with Omicron than for those of the same age infected with Delta. However, this difference diminished with age: the risk was reduced by a factor of 9.1 among people aged 40 to 64 infected with Omicron, by a factor of 5.3 among those aged 65 to 80, and by a factor of only 2.0 among those aged 80 and older.

Ukraine: Addressing Public Health Challenges Related to Population Displacement

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has just published a technical report aimed at providing operational guidance for the prevention and control of infectious diseases in the context of the mass exodus of displaced persons from Ukraine. It draws particular attention to certain vaccine-preventable diseases such as measles, polio, and COVID-19.

Influenza and influenza-like illness

The region has been in an epidemic phase for 12 weeks. After a surge in late December, indicators declined in early January and have since stabilized at a high level. Children under 15 remain particularly affected, although their proportion appears to have been decreasing over the past two weeks.

Acute gastroenteritis

• In hospital settings, according to data reported by emergency departments to the Oscour® network, gastroenteritis activity was high in week 09-2022 (Figure 13). Hospital visits for gastroenteritis diagnoses among all age groups and among children under 5 years of age were decreasing compared to the previous week (Figure 14). In week 09-2022, 588 visits for gastroenteritis were recorded (including 391 for patients under 5 years of age), representing 2.1% of all visits (versus 646 visits in week 08-2022, including 447 for children under 5)

• In private practice, according to data from the SOS Médecins associations in Nîmes, Montpellier, and Perpignan (SOS Toulouse excluded from the analysis due to missing data since 02/16), gastroenteritis activity was moderate in week 09-2022 (Figure 15). Procedures for all ages and for children under 5 years of age diagnosed with gastroenteritis remained stable compared to the previous week (Figure 16). In week 09-2022, 158 cases for this diagnosis were recorded, representing 7.3% (including 51 for children under 5) of the overall activity of the SOS Médecins associations (161 cases in week 08-2022)