The winter of 2023/24 saw an intense episode of bronchiolitis epidemic which did not spare Alsace. The Grand Est Regional Health Agency is taking the lead by communicating on a new national preventive strategy implemented this year: immunization of newborns and vaccination of pregnant women.
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26,000 babies hospitalized during the winter of 2023/24 for bronchiolitis in France, which means that caregivers and parents would like to avoid a repeat. Because even if this infection is benign, it is the leading cause of hospitalization for babies under one year of age and last year led to the implementation of the white plan in Alsatian hospitals.
A new national preventive strategy relayed by national health agencies has been put in place for this winter. This involves encouraging preventive treatment for infants: a single injection treatment of the Beyfortus monoclonal antibody, a treatment implemented in September 2023 and which strengthens babies’ immune defenses against the virus.
Pregnant women can also benefit from a new vaccine administered during the 8th month of pregnancy, this vaccine transmits maternal antibodies to the baby, thus providing protection against bronchiolitis during its first six months of life.
The High Health Authority does not recommend one treatment over the other and leaves the choice to parents. The virus is transmitted through saliva, coughs, sneezes, and can survive on hands and everyday objects. It causes inflammation of the walls of the small bronchi and an increase in secretions which can obstruct the airways.
The ARS therefore also recommends thinking carefully about carrying out barrier gestures: washing your hands regularly, cleaning your infant’s nose, ventilating your room, among others.
No epidemic alert in Alsace, unlike the Ile-de-France region. Three regions are also at the pre-epidemic threshold: Brittany, Normandy and Hauts-de-France.
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