The beginning of autumn signals the return of certain diseases. Surveillance indicators (urgency visits, hospitalizations, etc.) of bronchiolitis in children under two years of age have increased again this week, as published on Wednesday by the weekly bulletin of Public Health France.
The regions of Hauts-de-France, Ile-de-France, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie thus entered the pre-epidemic phase this week, joining Normandy.
Bronchiolitis is an acute respiratory viral infection, that reaches infants and has an average duration of ten days. It usually begins with a cold and in infants is often characterized by coughing and rapid, wheezing. This disease is usually benign. according to health insurancebut very young children can develop a more severe form that requires hospitalization.
A peak often in December
Last week, in France, 1,491 children under 2 years of age were seen in the emergency room for bronchiolitis and 91% of them were under 1 year of age. The number of emergency visits for this infection increased by 41% compared to the previous week, according to Public Health France. 456 children with this disease were hospitalized this week, an increase of 27%.
The seasonal epidemic of bronchiolitis “generally begins in mid-October and ends in late winter with a peak during the month of December,” explains the Ministry of Health on its website.
Adults and older children with the respiratory virus usually have no symptoms or just a cold. Therefore, many people are contagious without knowing it, according to the ministry. This virus spreads easily between people through saliva, coughs, and sneezes, and can stay on hands and objects.
A strong epidemic last year
During the 2020-2021 winter, the extent of the epidemic was much lower than that of the previous season due to the application of barrier gestures and confinement, in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, highlights the Health Insurance in your site.
During the winter of 2021-2022, the bronchiolitis epidemic was instead of a magnitude higher than average, due to a deficit of herd immunity in children born after March 2020, according to a study published in the journal infectious diseases now in June.
30% of children under 2 years of age are affected by bronchiolitis each year, according to the Ministry of Health. However, deaths attributable to acute bronchiolitis are rare (less than 1% of cases).
Source: BFM TV
