Key Points

In Week 49 (December 5–11, 2022), emergency department visits and hospitalizations following such visits remained slightly higher among those aged 75 and older (+7%, or +4,035 visits and +1,798 hospitalizations). They were stable or declining in other age groups.

Across all age groups, the increase in visits for influenza/flu-like illness continues at levels far higher than in previous years (+100%, or +3,258 visits) and, to a lesser extent, for suspected COVID-19 (+17%, or +796 visits).

Regarding other respiratory indicators:

• they are all on the rise among adults, particularly acute bronchitis (+23%, or +485 visits), pneumonia (+15%, or +696 visits), and asthma among those aged 15–74 (+8%, or +117 visits);

• their stabilization or even decline continues among children, particularly among those under 2 years of age, with a first week of decline in cases of bronchiolitis (respectively -21% and -15%, or -1,803 visits and -460 hospitalizations).

• Finally, against the backdrop of rising non-invasive and invasive Group A Streptococcus infections, there has been an increase in visits for scarlet fever (+20%, or +45 visits).

Among other indicators, regarding gastrointestinal issues, although levels remain low, a slight increase is observed among children and adults: for vomiting among those aged 2–14 and those aged 75 and older (+16%) and for gastroenteritis among children under 2 and those aged 15–74 (+6%).

There was also an increase in visits for isolated fever among those aged 2–14 and 15–74 (up 21% and 13%, respectively) and, among those aged 75 and older, for dyspnea/respiratory failure and cardiac decompensation (up 16% and 15%, respectively).