Epidemiological Surveillance in the Pays de la Loire Region. Update as of January 6, 2023.

Published on 6 January 2023

Key Points

In the Pays de la Loire region, SARS-CoV-2 transmission was declining significantly, but admissions to critical care units and deaths among patients with SARS-CoV-2 were on the rise.
In Week 52, the regional incidence rate was declining for the third consecutive week and reached a low level (184 positive cases per 100,000 inhabitants, a decrease of 58% compared to Week 51), as was the positivity rate (23% in Week 52, a decrease of 5.5 percentage points). This decline was observed across all age groups and all departments.
SOS Médecins calls and emergency room visits for suspected COVID-19 were decreasing and at moderate or even low levels. New hospitalizations of patients with SARS-CoV-2 were also decreasing in S51 and S52. In contrast, new admissions to intensive care units rose again in S52 after a slight decline in S51, and in-hospital deaths among patients with SARS-CoV-2 increased in S51 and S52.

The Pays de la Loire region has been in an epidemic phase for bronchiolitis since Week 41.
In week 52, emergency department visits for bronchiolitis among children under 2 years of age, as well as hospitalizations following emergency department visits, continued to decline, though they remained at high levels, while SOS Médecins calls stabilized at a moderate level. The RSV (respiratory syncytial virus) positivity rate reported by the virology laboratories at the Nantes and Angers university hospitals continued to decline in weeks 51 and 52, but RSV circulation remained active.

The Pays de la Loire region has been in an influenza epidemic phase since Week 49.
In Week 52, SOS Médecins calls and emergency department visits for influenza-like illness were decreasing for the first time since the onset of the pre-epidemic phase. However, activity levels in emergency departments remained very high, and the downward trend should be interpreted with caution, as a rebound is possible following the year-end holidays. Hospitalizations following emergency department visits were stable in week 52.