Epidemiological Situation

For the past 7 weeks (weeks 36 through 42 of 2018), consultations for influenza-like illness (ILI) in the emergency departments of the island’s four hospitals have been above the epidemic threshold. For the first week, consultations for FS among sentinel network physicians fell below the epidemic threshold, a trend to be confirmed in the coming weeks. Since week 36, 21 severe cases have been reported, representing 57% of all severe cases reported since January 1, 2018 (n=37).Since the start of the seasonal influenza epidemic, biological samples collected by sentinel physicians and testing positive for influenza have been exclusively type A non-H1N1. The influenza epidemic is still ongoing in Réunion; despite a decline in consultations for severe influenza in emergency departments and among sentinel physicians, the epidemic peak appears to have passed (week 38).