It is a respiratory infection that mainly affects babies. And in recent days, it has gained ground in France. The bronchiolitis epidemic has spread to Brittany, Pays de la Loire and Guyana, health authorities announced on Wednesday October 18.
Last week (from October 9 to 15), activity linked to bronchiolitis in community medicine and hospitals “continued to increase for bronchiolitis in children under 2 years old”, observed the agency Public Health France (SpF) in a weekly report. In mainland France, the Brittany and Pays de la Loire regions have entered the epidemic phase, bringing the epidemic regions to three, with Ile-de-France, affected a week earlier. Five other regions are in the pre-epidemic phase.
Guyana in epidemic phase
In the overseas departments and regions, Guyana has entered the epidemic phase, bringing the regions in the epidemic phase to three, detailed SpF. “In this context, it is necessary to be particularly vigilant and to apply barrier measures, particularly in the presence of children under 2 years old,” recalls the agency.
Bronchiolitis, caused primarily by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), causes babies to have difficulty breathing. Generally not serious, it can sometimes lead to visits to the emergency room and hospitalizations. Last season, the epidemic was on a scale unprecedented in more than a decade, driving tens of thousands of babies into hospitals in persistent crisis and already struggling with Covid and flu.
From October 9 to 15, 1,950 children under the age of two went to the emergency room for bronchiolitis, and 597 were hospitalized (+ 15% over one week). But, “at the hospital level, the increases observed remained lower than those of the two previous seasons,” noted SpF.
Beyfortus treatment reserved for maternity wards
One of the major issues of the season is to know whether the launch of a vast campaign to immunize babies, via 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 waiting for new stocks.
Public Health France, which now simultaneously gives its figures on bronchiolitis, flu and Covid, pointed out that the decline of the latter continues, with “however a stabilization” among seniors.
For the flu, only a few “sporadic cases” have been reported, except in Reunion, which has been experiencing a second wave since the end of August, after a first in June-July. The annual flu vaccination campaign began on Tuesday. And vaccination against Covid, opened in advance at the beginning of October, can be done at the same time. Until now, some 4% of those aged 65 and over have received an anti-Covid reminder via this campaign.