Epidemiological surveillance in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Update as of February 24, 2021.

Published on 26 February 2021

Key Points

COVID-19

Biological indicators have stabilized at a high level. Indicators in ESMS have declined.

At the regional level: incidence and positivity rates remain stable, with viral circulation remaining high; the most significant decline in indicators is among the oldest age groups. Viral circulation remains higher than the national average.
At the departmental level, Alpes-Maritimes remains the hardest-hit department. Increase in positivity and incidence rates in Var.
Increase in intensive care (and other critical care) hospitalizations over the past several weeks.
Decrease in the number of deaths in hospitals over the past 3 weeks, though the number remains high.
In long-term care facilities (ESMS), a sharp decrease in the number of infected residents and staff, with the number of deaths remaining stable.

reference

Bronchiolitis

Activity in emergency departments and SOS Médecins associations is lower than in previous years, a situation likely due in large part to the implementation of Covid-19 containment measures. However, a recent shift in the situation has been observed, with a transition into a pre-epidemic phase.

Emergency departments - Activity related to bronchiolitis in children under 2 years of age has been on the rise for the past 4 weeks.
SOS Médecins - The proportion of consultations for bronchiolitis in children under 2 years of age has been rising for the past 3 weeks.
Virological surveillance - Since the start of surveillance, 61 RSV cases have been isolated by the Rénal network, including 15 in week 06. Physicians in the Sentinelles network have isolated 1 RSV case (incomplete data for the current week).

Furthermore, information from the Southern Hemisphere warrants special attention. Surveillance data from New South Wales, Australia (Sydney region) have shown an increase in RSV isolates starting in October, much later (about 4 months) than the average in previous years and over a fairly long period. These findings raise concerns about the possibility of a similar delayed outbreak in our region.