Over the past week in the region:

• After five weeks of progression, the bronchiolitis outbreak has plateaued in the western part of the region and is expected to decline rapidly over the next two weeks. In the eastern part of the region, the outbreak is starting later: there has been a significant increase in visits by infants under 1 year of age to pediatric emergency departments in Le Mans over the past two weeks and in Angers over the past week. RSV isolates at Angers University Hospital are increasing in line with this trend.

• There has been an increase in cases of gastroenteritis (GE) diagnosed by SOS Médecins and emergency departments, with a particular peak observed on December 27, strongly suggesting norovirus infections acquired during Christmas meals.

• Influenza activity remains low, with the first severe case hospitalized in the ICU. Influenza viruses identified in North America and several European countries show a predominance of a new H3N2 variant exhibiting antigenic drift from the vaccine strain. This could lead to reduced vaccine efficacy and more severe illness among the elderly.

• Outbreaks of acute respiratory infections (ARI) and gastroenteritis (GE) in long-term care facilities have been on the rise for the past week.