Summary

• During the first week of 2018 (January 1–7), all-cause activity was down sharply among children (–24%, or 26,499 fewer visits) and stable among adults. Hospitalizations were also down among children (–15%, or 1,504 fewer hospitalizations) and stable among adults.

• After an increase in week 52, nearly all seasonal illnesses declined over the past week across all age groups, particularly among children. Key points: - a decrease in visits for influenza/flu-like illness among children (-42%, or 2,340 fewer visits) and among adults (-13%, or 670 fewer visits). The proportion of these conditions within all-cause emergency department activity is 5% among children and 2.5% among adults, and is higher than that observed during the same period last year, - across all age groups, a decrease in visits for isolated fever, asthma, and gastroenteritis (down 33%, 28%, and 19%, respectively, across all ages), as well as for ENT conditions (down 35% across all ages, or 9,002 fewer visits). These account for nearly 6% of overall emergency department activity, a higher share than that observed last year during the same period, - a decrease in visits for bronchiolitis among children under 2 years of age (-21%, or 991 fewer visits), bronchitis among children under 15 (-50%, or 614 fewer visits) and those aged 15–74 (-12%, or 378 fewer visits), while they rose slightly among those aged 75 and older (+7%, or 89 more visits). Visits for pneumonia are up 11% among adults aged 15 and older (+729 visits).

• Among the most common conditions, excluding seasonal illnesses, in children, there was an increase in visits for abdominal pain among those aged 2–14. Among adults, there was an increase in visits for chest pain among those aged 15–74 (+11%) and for stroke among those aged 75 and older (+5%). Visits for trauma and neurological disorders (children aged 2–14 only) also increased among children (+9% and +11%, respectively) and those aged 15–74 (+8% and +10%, respectively).