With the arrival of autumn, cases of bronchiolitis, this respiratory infection that affects nearly 480,000 babies each year, continue to increase in France.
According to the latest French Public Health bulletin published on Thursday, November 2, “the percentage of activity related to bronchiolitis in children under 2 years of age in emergency departments increases significantly compared to the previous week.”
According to the public health agency’s surveillance indicators, 3,189 children under 2 years of age were treated in emergency rooms between October 23 and 29, an increase of almost 35% in one week throughout the country.
6 regions in epidemic phase in France
While Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Ile-de-France and Normandy saw their alert level raised to maximum at the beginning of October, it is the turn of Centre-Val de Loire and Grand Is to join the list of regions classified as in the epidemic phase. .
In the Overseas Territories, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyana are also strongly affected by the bronchiolitis epidemic that affects 30% of French children under 2 years of age each year. Use our map below to discover the status of the bronchiolitis epidemic in your region.
At the same time, Burgundy-Franche-Comté, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region were reassessed at the “pre-epidemic” alert level, as were New Aquitaine and Hauts-de-Aquitaine. France before them. Currently, only three territories are saved from the virulence of the epidemic: Corsica, Réunion and Mayotte.
Hospitalizations lower than last year
Although most of the time bronchiolitis, caused mainly by the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), causes mild breathing difficulties, in certain cases the more severe forms can lead to hospitalization of the baby.
The weekly report from Public Health France indicates 1,042 hospitalizations after going to the emergency room for bronchiolitis in children under 2 years of age, an increase of 33% between October 23 and 29 compared to the previous week.
However, as our chart below shows, current levels are still lower than those recorded at the same time last year. In fact, an unprecedented epidemic hit the country in 2022, causing thousands of babies to be hospitalized with breathing difficulties.
A treatment to counteract the epidemic
Although it is too early to draw conclusions, Sanofi’s Beyfortus, a preventive treatment marketed in Europe in late 2022 that aims to protect babies from infections, could reduce hospitalizations this winter.
“It could allow extending the prevention of severe forms of RSV bronchiolitis, through a single injection, to all children who experience their first season of RSV circulation,” said the General Directorate of Health (DGS) last July.
Initially, this treatment was offered to all children born from February onwards, but given the success of the treatment, it is now reserved for maternity wards, pending additional stock.
Source: BFM TV
