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Paris (AFP) – The bronchiolitis epidemic remains at “a very high level” in mainland France, despite a shift, “perhaps transitory” after the All Saints school holidays, health authorities observed on Wednesday.
If the surveillance indicators in children under two show a “decrease” in most metropolitan regions, Public Health France has warned that this reflux “may be transitory following the Toussaint school holidays”.
Overseas, Mayotte has entered the epidemic phase.
If they have fallen, “hospitalizations for bronchiolitis represent for the second consecutive week half of hospitalizations following a visit to the emergency room in children under two years old” in mainland France, underlined the health agency in its weekly report.
A total of 5,565 children under two went to the emergency room for bronchiolitis in mainland France during the week of November 7 to 13, a drop of 20% compared to the previous week. Some 2,027 children were eventually hospitalized.
A week ago, Santé Publique France reported emergency room visits and hospitalizations at record levels “for more than 10 years”.
The intensity of the epidemic is more intense in the northern half of the metropolis and in Guadeloupe, according to the health agency.
Common and highly contagious, bronchiolitis causes babies to cough and have difficult, rapid, wheezy breathing. If it is distressing for young parents, it is most of the time benign. In some cases, it may require a visit to the emergency room, or even hospitalization.
This epidemic has hit pediatric emergencies plunged into a crisis linked to unsatisfactory working conditions and a lack of staff.
Under pressure, the Minister of Health launched last Wednesday a national emergency plan, says ORSAN, planned for exceptional health situations, in order to “further strengthen the means of the ARS (regional health agencies) and allow all of the hospital can concentrate on this particularly acute problem today”.
A week earlier, François Braun had announced new measures, in particular for pediatric services, for a total amount of around 400 million euros.
With this early and intense epidemic, “pediatric practices are also in a situation of saturation”, said Brigitte Virey, president of the National Union of French Pediatricians, Tuesday in Le Monde.
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