Cases of bronchiolitis are increasing both in mainland France and abroad. So much so that Public Health France has moved four regions of France into the pre-epidemic phase. Concerned: Great East, Normandy, New Aquitaine and Pays de la Loire, details the health agency in its weekly bulletin.
In the overseas departments and regions, “Guyana has also entered the pre-epidemic phase”, after Guadeloupe and Martinique the previous week.
In the week of September 25 to October 1, the increase in bronchiolitis-related activity in mainland France continued in hospitals and at SOS Medicos.
1,300 children in the emergency room in one week
1,300 children under 2 years of age (+22% in one week) were treated in the emergency room for bronchiolitis, and almost a third of them were hospitalized, the vast majority of them babies under one year of age.
On the part of SOS Médicos, 277 consultations related to this viral infection were recorded (+8% in one week).
The increases are “comparable to those observed in the two years preceding the same period, reflecting an early resumption of bronchiolitis-related activity,” Public Health France stressed.
Bronchiolitis, mainly caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), mainly affects babies and causes breathing difficulties. Very common, this infection is usually not serious, but can sometimes become complicated and lead to hospitalization.
Last season, the epidemic reached a scale unprecedented in more than a decade, bringing tens of thousands of babies to hospitals in persistent crises and already battling Covid and the flu.
Treatment generates hope
This year, a novelty raises the hope of health authorities: a preventive treatment against RSV developed by the French pharmaceutical group Sanofi, Beyfortus (nirvésimab), which works based on a directly injected antibody, different from a vaccine.
Health authorities purchased 200,000 doses and launched a major immunization campaign in mid-September for babies born in February, if their parents agree.
Given a higher than expected demand, deliveries to pharmacies were interrupted last Friday. And the ministry has reserved the lowest dose for newborns in maternity wards and babies under one month old in the hospital.
Questioned on Tuesday in the National Assembly by an LFI/Nupes deputy, Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau rejected any lack of foresight and deplored a “report of tragedy.”
Source: BFM TV
