Key Points

COVID-19

In the Pays de la Loire region, SARS-CoV-2 transmission continued to decline in Week 6, though it remained high. Healthcare utilization also showed a decline, which will need to be confirmed in the coming weeks.

In Week 06, the decline in the regional incidence rate accelerated, reaching 1,269 per 100,000 inhabitants, in line with a testing rate that continued to fall. This decline was observed across all age groups, though it was more pronounced among people under 65. The positivity rate also declined in Week 6 across all age groups. As at the national level, the Omicron variant remained overwhelmingly predominant, with nearly 100% of screenings indicating suspected Omicron cases in Week 6 at the regional level.

Regarding healthcare utilization, SOS Médecins calls for suspected Covid-19 continued to decline in Week 6, as did emergency department visits for the same reason. In hospitals, the number of new Covid-19 hospitalizations reported at the regional level decreased in Week 6, though it remained at a high level. Unlike the previous week, the number of new admissions reported to critical care units decreased in Week 6, although there was an increase in the rate among people aged 80 and older. After a sharp increase in W05, the number of new reported hospital deaths was slightly lower in W06. In long-term care facilities (ESMS), the number of new reported cases continued to decline in W06, although the number of confirmed cases among residents and staff remained at a very high level. The number of deaths occurring in ESMS among residents was on the rise.

Influenza and influenza-like illness

The Pays de la Loire region has been in the pre-epidemic phase for influenza since Week 51 of 2021. Indicators of healthcare utilization in the region (emergency department visits and SOS Médecins calls) as well as influenza isolations at the Nantes and Angers university hospitals remain at moderate and generally stable levels, with no marked increase recorded. No severe cases of influenza admitted to intensive care were reported in Week 06 as part of the 2021/22 seasonal surveillance (17 severe cases reported in total this season). Since Week 03, no new clusters of acute respiratory infections (ARI) other than COVID-19 have been reported in the region’s long-term care facilities (including nursing homes) (3 clusters reported in Week 03, 0 in Weeks 04–06 to date).

Acute Gastroenteritis

High activity in healthcare utilization for acute gastroenteritis in S06, with a steadily increasing number of emergency department visits, particularly among children under 5 years of age, who show a significant peak compared to the same period in the two previous seasons.

Bronchiolitis

End of the bronchiolitis epidemic among children under 2 years of age. The bronchiolitis epidemic ended in the Pays de la Loire region in S03, following a transition to the post-epidemic phase the previous week. It lasted a total of 13 weeks (S41-2021 to S01-2022).