Over the past week in the region:

This marks the sixth week of the flu epidemic in the region, with flu-like symptoms plateauing among the reasons for consultations with SOS Médecins. The number of severe flu cases in intensive care is decreasing. Over the past two weeks, there has been a significant drop in emergency room visits by people aged 75 and older, bringing the number back below the alert threshold. This decline primarily concerns acute lower respiratory tract infections (ALRTIs), also observed by SOS Médecins. RSV circulation remains active, with isolates detected by the two university hospital virology laboratories in both infants and adults.In the region’s nursing homes, the number of new ARI outbreaks is decreasing (13 new outbreaks reported in the past week), bringing the total number of outbreaks since early September to 168. The proportion of nursing homes that have had an ARI outbreak was higher in Loire-Atlantique and Maine-et-Loire and lower in Mayenne. Mortality observed in the region during the first week of 2017 shows a significant excess across all age groups and among people aged 65 and older, though lower than in the southeastern regions of France. In week 2, the observed number of deaths remained significantly higher than the expected number (all ages and ≥ 65 years) but decreased compared to week 1.