2023-07-28 05:40:13
This monocolonal antibody must still obtain a favorable opinion from the High Authority for Health. It will reduce the number of hospitalizations for bronchiolitis by 84%, according to a preliminary study.
It could help to counter bronchiolitis epidemics. A preventive treatment against this viral respiratory infection which affects infants will be available from September in France, subject to a favorable opinion from the High Health Authority, said the Directorate General for Health (DGS) in a press release. released on Monday.
Having obtained marketing authorization in Europe at the end of 2022, nirsevimab is a monoclonal antibody acting against the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), responsible for the majority of bronchiolitis, and intended for newborns.
It “could make it possible to extend the prevention of severe forms of RSV bronchiolitis, via a single injection, to all children living their first season of RSV circulation” specifies the DGS.
A long-awaited treatment
A single injection of the antibody will be enough to protect newborns for the winter. “It is not a vaccine, it is a molecule which will make it possible to block the virus”, explains Stéphane Paul, immunologist at the CHU of Saint-Étienne, at the microphone of BFMTV.
“In fact, we will replace the infant’s immune system which is failing until the age of 4 to 6 months by using a molecule which will block the virus and prevent it from infecting” he specifies.
This treatment is eagerly awaited by certain professionals whose services are overwhelmed with each new epidemic.
“During an epidemic, the service is full. We find ourselves at around 150% occupancy rate of intensive care beds” testifies Pierre Tissières, head of the pediatric intensive care unit at CHU Bicêtre (Val-de-Marne). ).
84% fewer hospitalizations
Indeed, each winter nearly 30% of infants under two years old are affected by bronchiolitis, i.e. 480,000 cases per year, according to figures provided by the DGS. It also records 45,000 cases of hospitalizations per year for RSV, including 69% of children under one year old.
According to a preliminary study, more than 84% of hospitalizations could be avoided with this new treatment.
“In our service, we receive between 120 and 150 infants each year who present with severe bronchiolitis and require ventilatory assistance. Of these 150 patients, if they were treated preventively with nirsevimab, we would only have about twenty” , rejoices Pierre Tissières.
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) also authorized this Friday a first vaccine for infants against RSV called Abrysvo and developed by the American Pfizer.
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