Key Points

In Week 05 (January 30 to February 5, 2023), emergency department visits increased among children (+8%, or 6,366 visits), as did hospitalizations following visits among 2- to 14-year-olds. Activity remained stable in other age groups.

Emergency room visits for influenza/flu-like illness rose again for the second consecutive week across all age groups (+42% among children, or 660 more visits, and +34% among adults, or 617 more visits). This increase is accompanied by a (less pronounced) rise in other respiratory conditions, which, with the exception of asthma, remain at levels comparable to those of previous years: asthma in adults (+20%), bronchitis (+20%, more pronounced in adults), pneumonia (+12% in children), and ENT conditions (+12% across all ages). Among those aged 75 and older, there was also a slight increase in visits for dyspnea/respiratory failure (+9%). Visits for suspected COVID-19 rose slightly but remained at low levels (+15%, or 45 more visits among those aged 15–74, and +123%, or 16 more visits among those aged 2–14).

There was also an increase in cases of gastrointestinal symptoms (gastroenteritis and vomiting), at levels similar to those observed in previous years: among children (up 24% and 13%, or 658 and 203 visits) and among adults—primarily those aged 15–74 (up 11% and 10%, or 157 and 792 visits). However, the number of visits for vomiting exceeds that of previous years among adults.

Finally, among children aged 2–14, visits for conjunctivitis continue to rise slightly (+13%) and remain at a level higher than in previous years, as do visits for scarlet fever.