The epidemic of bronchiolitis in infants is worsening throughout France, causing “strong tension” in pediatric wards, health professionals warn.
- In one week, nearly 3,000 children under the age of 2 with bronchiolitis went through the emergency room.
- The European Medicines Agency gave the green light at the end of September to the future marketing of a vaccine against bronchiolitis for babies under one year old.
+46% of visits to the emergency room and +50% of hospitalizations in one week, according to the bulletin of Public Health France published yesterday. The epidemic of bronchiolitis in infants continues to progress very rapidly.
Bronchiolitis: mainland France particularly affected by the epidemic
This viral disease which affects the respiratory tract of infants and whose symptoms can last ten days is characterized by “an episode of shortness of breath, the signs of which are coughing and rapid wheezing“, indicates the site of the Social Security.
Currently, 11 regions of metropolitan France have been placed in the bronchiolitis epidemic phase by the health authorities: Occitanie, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, Bretagne, Centre-Val de Loire, Grand Est, Normandy, Pays de la Loire, Hauts-de-France, Ile-de-France and New Aquitaine. The Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur region is in a situation “pre-epidemic“and the situation in Corsica is normal.
Overseas, only Guyana is affected by the epidemic: Mayotte, Guadeloupe and Martinique are in the pre-epidemic phase.
Hospitals: some pediatric departments are overwhelmed
Ile-de-France pediatric services are particularly affected and saturation of hospitals is to be feared. Due to a lack of available beds, 14 children in pediatric intensive care had to be transferred outside Ile-de-France – to the University Hospitals of Amiens and Rouen in particular.
This epidemic, which starts quickly and early in the autumn/winter season, aggravates the difficulties of the pediatric services, already weakened by the lack of staff: “We have strong, even very strong tensions in the pediatric services of the region“, declared the director general of the regional health agency (ARS) of Ile-de-France, Amélie Verdier to AFP, explaining that bronchiolitis came to be added to the “very important difficulties“linked to”vacant jobs“.
The ARS pleads for an “appropriate use” of emergencies
And the forecast situation for the coming days and weeks “is not good“, warned Ms. Verdier, counting on the “solidarity of all“caregivers, in particular liberals, for”relieve emergencies“.
Public health France thus advises parents not to systematically go to the emergency room, unless the child is less than six weeks old, if he is a former premature baby less than three months old, if he has a respiratory or cardiac disease, s if he drinks less than half of his bottles at three consecutive meals, if he vomits systematically, if he sleeps constantly or cries in an unusual way and cannot sleep.
If in doubt, it is advisable to call 15.
The director of the ARS also appeals to the “everyone’s responsibility“, especially parents, for “protect against winter epidemics“, through barrier gestures and vaccination against Covid”including for children“.