2023-11-06 16:21:44
The bronchiolitis epidemic is spreading further in France. According to the latest Public Health France bulletin, six regions are now considered in the epidemic phase, as are three overseas departments.
With the arrival of autumn, cases of bronchiolitis, this respiratory infection which affects nearly 480,000 babies each year, continue to increase in France.
According to the latest Public Health France bulletin published Thursday, November 2, the “share of activity linked to bronchiolitis in children under 2 years old 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 old were treated in emergency rooms between October 23 and 29, an increase of almost 35% in one week. countrywide.
6 regions in epidemic phase in France
While Brittany, Pays de la Loire, Ile-de-France and Normandy saw their alert level raised to the maximum earlier in October, it is the turn of Centre-Val de Loire and Grand Is to join the list of regions classified in epidemic phase.
In the Overseas Territories, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyana are also strongly affected by the bronchiolitis epidemic which affects 30% of French children under 2 years old each year. Using our map below, discover the situation 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 was Nouvelle-Aquitaine. and Hauts-de-France before them. Only 3 territories are currently spared from the virulence of the epidemic: Corsica, Reunion 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 more severe forms can lead to hospitalization of the baby.
The weekly report from Public Health France notes 1,042 hospitalizations after going to the emergency room for bronchiolitis in children under 2 years old, an increase of 33% between October 23 and 29 compared to the previous week.
However, as our chart below shows, current levels remain lower than those recorded at the same time last year. Indeed, an unprecedented epidemic hit the country in 2022, resulting in thousands of infants being hospitalized with breathing difficulties.
A treatment to counter the epidemic
While it is currently too early to draw conclusions, Sanofi’s Beyfortus, a preventive treatment placed on the European market at the end of 2022 which aims to protect babies from infection, could reduce the hospitalizations this winter.
It “could make it possible to extend the prevention of serious forms of RSV bronchiolitis, via a single injection, to all children experiencing their first season of RSV circulation”, specified the General Directorate of Health (DGS) , last July.
Originally this treatment was offered to all children born since February, but given the success of the treatment, it is now reserved for maternity wards, pending additional stocks.
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