The annual bronchiolitis epidemic, which particularly affects babies, is looming in new parts of France with the passage of a new region, Hauts-de-France, in pre-epidemic, Public Health France indicated on Wednesday .
Île-de-France is until now the first region to suffer the epidemic in mainland France, where Brittany has also been, since the end of October, in a pre-epidemic.
Levels lower than the last three years
The week ended November 4, “syndromic indicators linked to bronchiolitis were increasing in community medicine as well as in hospitals”, but “remaining at levels lower than those observed in the three years prior to the same period », Specified the health agency. Overseas, Guadeloupe and Martinique have been affected by the epidemic since the end of October, Guyana since the end of July.
Every year, during the fall and winter, bronchiolitis strikes many French babies, most often following an infection with respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) which can also threaten the elderly.
Two preventive treatments
Among children under two years old, 1,740 went to the emergency room for bronchiolitis from October 28 to November 3, and 542 – almost all babies aged under 1 year – were hospitalized, more than the previous week.
This season is marked by the deployment of two preventive treatments, Beyfortus from AstraZeneca and Sanofi – an antibody given directly to babies – and Abrysvo from Pfizer – a vaccine administered before birth to pregnant women.
Beyfortus had already been the subject of an immunization campaign last year and studies agree to conclude that it limited the hospitalization of babies in France and in the few other countries where it was tested.
“Sporadic” cases of flu in mainland France
Public Health France also took stock of the evolution of Covid and seasonal flu, against which a combined vaccination campaign began in mid-October for people at risk, but also for their entourage and caregivers.
For influenza, cases detected in mainland France still remain “sporadic”, while in Overseas, Reunion has been affected by an epidemic since the end of September.
The latest wave of Covid continues to decline, given the data from city medicine, hospitals, wastewater, and even deaths (2.9% of the 5,825 deaths declared by electronic certificate, compared to 3.3% a week ago).
