Bronchiolitis: the epidemic continues to progress in France

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: ALINE MORCILLO / HANS LUCAS / HANS LUCAS VIA AFP 18:25 p.m., November 02, 2023

The annual outbreak of bronchiolitis, which mainly affects babies, has spread to new regions in France in recent days, although its level remains for the time being lower than last year's historic surge, the public health agency said on Thursday. Last week, "activity related to bronchiolitis was still increasing in community medicine and hospitals in children under two years of age," summarizes a weekly report from Public Health France.

Several regions in the epidemic phase

The Centre-Val de Loire and the Grand-Est have now entered the epidemic phase, joining Brittany, Île-de-France, Normandy and Pays de la Loire in mainland France. Overseas, three regions (Guadeloupe, Martinique, French Guiana) remain in the epidemic phase. Bronchiolitis, caused primarily by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), causes breathing difficulties in babies. Generally not serious, it can sometimes lead to visits to the emergency room and hospitalization.

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Last year, it caused an outbreak unprecedented in more than a decade, driving tens of thousands of infants to hospital. However, the current level of hospitalizations remains lower than it was last year, although it is still far too early to draw conclusions about the face of the epidemic this season.

Preventive treatment

One of the big questions is the effect of a new preventive treatment, Sanofi's Beyfortus. Initially offered to all babies born since February, it is currently reserved for maternity wards, pending new stocks. Public Health France has also given an assessment of two other diseases: Covid, in the declining phase, and seasonal influenza, still limited to a few sporadic cases in mainland France pending the inevitable annual epidemic. Only Reunion Island, in a special situation because it is subject to an inverted climate in the southern hemisphere, is already in the epidemic phase.

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The flu vaccination campaign, targeting the most vulnerable such as the over 65s, "is off to a good start", Health Minister Aurélien Rousseau told RTL radio on Tuesday. "We are going faster than last year, we are at 1.6 million vaccinated as we speak," he said, calling for simultaneous vaccination against flu and Covid, for which the threshold of two million injections has just been crossed as part of the current campaign.