Summary

During the week of March 16–22, 2015, mortality recorded by participating civil registry offices (accounting for 70% of national mortality) returned to levels close to expected values, both across all ages and by age group (Figures 1–4).Over the first 12 weeks of 2015, winter mortality was 16% higher than the expected mortality calculated based on the previous 8 years, representing an estimated excess of 14,500 deaths. Although the trend in mortality has coincided with that of the influenza epidemic since Week 3, the excess mortality cannot be entirely attributed to influenza. This estimate should be treated with caution, as the episode is not yet over and the data are not yet consolidated due to the usual delays in reporting. 683 deaths were electronically certified during Week 13 (March 23–29), a figure stable compared to the previous two weeks (Figure 5).