The annual epidemic of bronchiolitis, a disease that primarily affects babies, has begun in France, where it has spread to the Paris region as well as Guadeloupe and Martinique, public health authorities announced Wednesday.
Last week (October 2 to 8) was marked by the “transition to the epidemic phase of Ile-de-France, Guadeloupe and Martinique” in terms of bronchiolitis, the Public Health France agency announced in a weekly report. The Occitania region has also entered the pre-epidemic phase, bringing to five the number of regions affected by this phase in mainland France.
“In this context, it is necessary to be especially attentive and apply barrier measures in the presence of children under 2 years of age,” the agency warns. These measures include avoiding taking your baby to a public, confined place, or passing him or her from arm to arm at family gatherings.
An early start again this year
Bronchiolitis, most commonly caused by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), causes babies to have difficulty breathing. It is generally not serious, but it can lead to emergency room visits and hospitalizations.
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.
However, this year the figures “are comparable to those of the two years prior to the same period, reflecting an early resumption of bronchiolitis-related activity,” notes the SPF.
One of the big questions of the season is whether the launch of a broad campaign to immunize babies, through the preventive treatment Beyfortus from the Sanofi laboratory, will have been effective in reducing hospitalizations. Victim of its success, this treatment has now been reserved for maternity hospitals while awaiting new stock.
Reflux of Covid-19
Public Health France, which now simultaneously publishes its figures on the circulation of bronchiolitis, flu and Covid, has also reported a decline after a surge in recent weeks. However, among older people, and therefore the most vulnerable, we still observe “a slight increase in hospitalizations.”
Finally, regarding the flu, the disease persists in some “sporadic” cases. A vaccination campaign against Covid was launched at the beginning of October, aimed at people at risk, before the start of the flu campaign, in a few days.
Source: BFM TV
