News

Cold Snap:

Météo France has maintained an orange alert for Lozère due to the risk of extreme cold. At this stage, there is no observed increase in the region in conditions directly or indirectly associated with cold snaps, such as strokes and myocardial ischemia, while diagnoses of pneumonia in emergency departments tend to remain stable at a high level.

Monitoring of overall activity in emergency departments:

In the Gard department, a few isolated instances of capacity being exceeded were observed, particularly regarding total visits and those involving the elderly on February 6, and hospitalizations on February 13. In other departments, isolated instances of capacity being exceeded were also noted. Although few instances of exceeding statistical thresholds were observed, strain is being reported at the hospital level, particularly regarding the hospitalization of elderly patients from certain emergency departments in the region. This likely corresponds to the effects of seasonal epidemics, which frequently result in pneumonia; the number of cases of this condition among those over 75 is high compared to previous years. This situation calls for increased vigilance in the context of an emerging flu epidemic and ongoing bronchiolitis and gastroenteritis outbreaks.

Monitoring of seasonal illnesses:

• Flu: The flu incidence rate as defined by the Unified Network (Sentinelles + Grog) clearly exceeds the epidemic threshold in week 2012-05, with 248 cases of flu-like illness per 100,000 inhabitants. Emergency room visits for this type of syndrome remain stable, but calls to SOS Médecins are increasing. Several outbreaks of influenza-like illness in group settings (among children or the elderly) have been reported. The spread of influenza is therefore beginning to accelerate.

• Gastroenteritis: The epidemic remains very active in the region, even though data from the Sentinelles network report a regional incidence rate below the national epidemic threshold for week 2012-05. Visits to emergency departments remain very frequent for gastroenteritis, as do calls to SOS Médecins for this reason.

• Bronchiolitis: The bronchiolitis epidemic is declining but remains above the regional epidemic threshold.