Yasmina Kattou / Photo credit: LOIC VENANCE / AFP 10:01 am, September 15, 2023

To fight against bronchiolitis, which affects nearly 500,000 babies each year, preventive treatment is available from this Friday. In the form of a prick, this serum allows infants to receive the antibodies necessary for protection against the disease.

A real step forward. From this Friday, September 15, babies will be able to receive preventive treatment against RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), the main virus responsible for bronchiolitis. Beyfortus, manufactured by Sanofi and AstraZeneca, will therefore be available in healthcare facilities and to order in pharmacies. The government hopes that this treatment will reduce severe forms and in turn relieve the health care system. Nearly 500,000 children are affected each year, and last winter emergency services were overwhelmed by the large number of cases. So, who is concerned and how does this treatment work?

A serum

This takes the form of a single prick in the baby's thigh, but this serum is not a vaccine. It is a monoclonal antibody treatment. This means that infants are injected with the antibodies needed to protect against bronchiolitis.

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Immunity is therefore almost immediate, says Charles Wolf, head of France vaccines at Sanofi. "A single injection protects throughout the season with an exceptional efficiency: we are at more than 83% effectiveness against hospitalizations of RSV bronchiolitis," he explains. "It's one dose but there are two formulations, one of 100 mg for babies over 5 kilos and one formulation of 50 mg for babies under 5 kilos."

All children under one year of age who are experiencing their first winter this year can benefit from the treatment, which is fully reimbursed. Parents of newborns will be able to protect their children even before they leave the maternity ward. But the injection can also be done at the pediatrician, a nurse, or a midwife.