A new antigen test could soon make life easier for many parents and doctors! The latter would make it possible to diagnose three viruses at the same time: RSV responsible for bronchiolitis, Covid-19 and influenza in children.
- Three respiratory viruses are actively circulating in France in November 2022: RSV responsible for bronchiolitis, Covid-19 and influenza.
- A new antigenic test, currently in the trial phase in France, would make it possible to diagnose one of the three diseases in children.
France, like many other European countries, is currently affected by several epidemics. Last week, Public health France still observed a sharp increase in emergency room visits and hospitalizations for bronchiolitis in children under two years of age. The health authority also announced that several regions of the metropolis were in a “pre-epidemic” situation for the flu. Finally, cases of infection linked to Covid-19 continue to progress, with on November 22, 2022, an incidence rate up 34.6% estimated over the last seven days.
Runny nose, fever, fatigue… The symptoms are not always very significant in determining whether a child is suffering from this or that other disease. As such, a new test could well relieve many parents and practitioners…
RSV, flu, Covid: 3 viruses identifiable thanks to a single test
This new test comes in the form of a tube that the patient must insert into the nose, report our colleagues from BFM TV. “I put it in a nostril, I turn four times”, explains to the cameras Hanna, an 8-year-old girl. This device is not yet on sale, but it is already tested by several practitioners. In all, a hundred centers and pediatric structures have this tool in France, and more than a thousand children have been tested.
Shortage of drugs: avoid unnecessary intake of antibiotics
The test could help doctors refine their diagnosis and therefore offer the most appropriate prescription. “There is a tension in the supply of amoxicillin in adults, but also in children. This triple test will allow in many cases to avoid taking antibiotics for nothing”, explains pharmacist Pierre-Olivier Variot, president of the Union of Community Pharmacists (USPO), to the television channel.
And for good reason, last Sunday, the Minister of Health François Braun was alarmed by an increasingly concrete risk of a stock shortage, linked to an increase in demand but also to flaws in the production chain at the European level. Amoxicillin is an antibiotic that represents “about 60 to 70% of pediatric prescriptions”, told Liberation Robert Cohen, president of the National Professional Council of Pediatrics. “Running out of antibiotics can be very dangerous, they are one of the mainstays of the prevention and treatment of infectious diseases“, did he declare.
