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The bronchiolitis epidemic is gaining ground. In its weekly update of October 30, Public Health France announced that three new regions entered the epidemic phase between October 21 and 27: Ile-de-France, Guadeloupe and Martinique. Guyana, for its part, has been facing the epidemic since the end of July. The indicators are therefore red in these regions. Brittany moves to orange level, meaning that it is entering the pre-epidemic phase.
The health authority specifies in its bulletin that “syndromic indicators linked to bronchiolitis were increasing in the city as well as in the hospital“. However, these indicators remain “lower than those observed in the three years preceding the same period“. Among the 1,552 children under the age of 2 seen in the emergency room for bronchiolitis during the week between October 21 and 27, 497 were hospitalized, of which 470 were under the age of 1, indicates Public Health France.
How to protect yourself from bronchiolitis?
Acute bronchiolitis is a respiratory disease of viral origin that mainly affects children under two years of age during seasonal winter epidemics. According to data from Public Health France, it affects 30% of infants under two years old every winter. Several actions can prevent the transmission of the disease. The ARS (Regional Health Agency) highlights on its website that it is “strongly recommended to continue to respect the barrier measuresespecially since adults and older children who carry these respiratory viruses usually have no symptoms or just have a simple cold“. Therefore, it is recommended to wash your hands regularly, wear a mask in case of cold, cough or fever, and to avoid confined public places.
The ARS of Brittany explains in its prevention campaign against the disease that there are also means of prevention: “Vaccination with the Abrysvo vaccine allows parents to choose a strategy that relies on an injection to the mother during her pregnancy, and not to the newborn.” Two preventive treatments are also marketed, Synagis and Beyfortus. These are monoclonal antibodies, offered to newborns in the form of an injection. The Beyfortus was made available last year and is aimed at infants under one year of age, including newborns. Synagis is indicated at “certain premature children and in high-risk infants (in children with a heart or lung malformation, depending on the opinion of the specialists who follow them)», Specifies the Breton health agency.
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