Key Points

COVID-19

• In Week 19 of 2022, a downward trend in SARS-CoV-2 circulation was observed in the Grand Est region:

  • Decrease in incidence across all age groups

  • Continued decline in the rate of new hospitalizations (all departments) and stabilization of critical care admissions.

  • Decrease in the number of emergency room visits.

  • Since week 07-2022, the data now only covers the SOS Médecins associations in Strasbourg and Troyes. For these two associations, a decrease in the number of consultations for COVID-19 has been observed.

  • Departmental incidence rates: decrease in incidence rates across all departments. The highest rate is observed in the Ardennes (414 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), and the lowest is observed in Moselle (298 cases per 100,000 inhabitants).

• Variants:

  • In the Grand Est region, the screening rate is 41%, and 96% of screened tests indicate a suspected Omicron variant (for tests where the mutation is sought and interpretable).

• Prevention:

  • Vaccination (COVID Vaccine data): as of May 16, 2022, full vaccination coverage for the region was 77.5%. A booster dose had been administered to 88.1% of those aged 65–74 and to 79.9% of those aged 75 and older.

Influenza and influenza-like illnesses

• The region entered the post-epidemic phase in week 19 of 2022.

• SOS Médecins: Since Week 07, the data now only covers the SOS Médecins associations in Strasbourg and Troyes. For these two associations, the number of consultations for flu-like illness, all ages, is slightly down compared to last week (107 consultations in W19–2022 versus 155 in W18–2022), representing 3.0% of total activity.

• Oscour®: The number of emergency department visits for influenza-like illness, all ages, decreased in week S19-2022 compared to the previous week (41 versus 72 in S18-2022) and represents less than 0.2% of activity

• Virology data (Figure 2): According to data from the virology laboratories at the University Hospitals of Nancy, Reims, and Strasbourg, influenza virus circulation continued to decline in week 19-2022 in the region.

• Intensive care units in the region: Since the start of surveillance (10/04/2021), five cases of severe influenza have been reported.

• Acute respiratory infections in long-term care facilities: Since the start of surveillance (October 4, 2021), 33 episodes of ARI (excluding COVID-19) have been reported.

Acute gastroenteritis

• SOS Médecins: Since week 07-22, data now pertains only to the SOS Médecins associations in Strasbourg and Troyes. For these two associations, the number of consultations for acute gastroenteritis (AGI), all ages, was 244 in week 19. This represents a decrease compared to the previous week (304 consultations). The share of activity is 6.8% and is decreasing compared to last week.

• Oscour®: The number of emergency department visits for GEA, all ages, remained stable in week 19-2022 (302 visits compared to 313 in week 18-2022), representing 1.1% of the department’s total activity. Children under 5 years of age account for just under half of the visits, with 140 visits for GEA (5.2% of the activity share for this age group). The proportion of hospitalizations for GEA among all hospitalizations following an emergency department visit in children under 5 is 8.3%.

• Virology data: According to data from the virology laboratories at the University Hospitals of Nancy, Reims, and Strasbourg, rotavirus circulation continues to decline.