Key Points

COVID-19

Viral circulation continues to rise, with an incidence rate exceeding 1,500 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and a positivity rate that is increasing and equivalent to the peak in January 2022. At the same time, the health impact remains moderate. New hospitalizations and new admissions to critical care remain stable, while a slight increase in the number of deaths was observed in week 14.

Since 2022, seven new cases of PIMS have been reported in February and March 2022, linked to the high viral circulation (particularly among children) observed in 2022.

The Omicron variant still accounts for 100% of interpretable sequences. The BA.2 sublineage continues to spread,
rising from 13% of Omicron sequences in S05 to 89% in S11. Four cases of the XE recombinant (a recombinant of BA.1 and BA.2)
were identified between February and March 2022 in Réunion.

Bronchiolitis

• Epidemic peak reached in S12/22

• Significance of the number of cases over a limited period for the 2022 epidemic

• 3 bronchiolitis epidemics in one year

• Continuous circulation of RSV since the beginning of the year

• Since the start of the epidemic in W09/22, among children under 2 years of age:

  • 441 emergency department visits for bronchiolitis, representing 19% of total activity

  • 197 visits for bronchiolitis were followed by hospitalization, representing 36% of total hospitalizations

  • Predominantly type A RSV detected at the university hospital