The bronchiolitis epidemic is spreading further, with Hauts-de-France moving into pre-epidemic mode.
- Bronchiolitis is increasing in towns and hospitals in France, the West Indies and Guyana.
- The Hauts-de-France region has been placed in the pre-epidemic phase.
- If the indicators of the bronchiolitis epidemic are climbing, they remain for the moment “at levels lower than those of the last three years”.
The bronchiolitis season has started well. Respiratory infection, which mainly affects babies, is gaining ground in France.
THE weekly report from Public Health France on acute respiratory infections, published on November 6, 2024, shows that syndromic indicators linked to this disease were increasing in cities as well as in hospitals, particularly in Hauts-de-France.
Bronchiolitis: cases are increasing in France
Indeed, the report reveals that the Hauts-de-France region went into pre-epidemic during the week of October 28 to November 3, thus joining Brittany. Furthermore, bronchiolitis is still very present in Île-de-France, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyana which are still in the epidemic phase.
At the national level, among the 6,788 SOS Médecins medical procedures carried out for children under 2 years old, 324 (4.8%) were linked to respiratory infection. “Bronchiolitis indicators were increasing, but still remained at a basic level in week 44 (October 28 to November 3, Editor’s note) in community medicine”specify the authors of the report.
1,740 babies were treated in the emergency room for bronchiolitis, or 8.1% of visits for children under 2 years old (7.0% the previous week). The number of hospitalizations for bronchiolitis was 542, or 18.7% of hospitalizations in this population (vs. 16.1% 7 days earlier). Nineteen small patients were treated in intensive care units, or 35.2% of all hospitalizations in intensive care units for this age group. Despite the progress recorded, the health authorities want to be reassuring by specifying that the indicators remain “at levels lower than those of the last three years”.
Bronchiolitis: symptoms to recognize
30% of children under 2 years old are affected by bronchiolitis each year. Very contagious, the disease, most often caused by the Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), must be quickly identified. And this is not necessarily obvious since bronchiolitis generally begins with a simple cold (blocked or runny nose). Then the baby begins to have a dry cough. It becomes more and more frequent and breathing becomes wheezing.
As breathing difficulty sets in, the baby may have difficulty eating and sleeping. He is also likely to have a fever.
“The symptoms subside in a few days and the child recovers in 8 to 10 days, but a residual cough can persist for around fifteen days before disappearing. Despite the often impressive symptoms, bronchiolitis is a benign disease,” indicates Health Insurance on its website. “However, babies under two months or very fragile infants (infants born prematurely or suffering from a chronic illness) require careful monitoring and are therefore hospitalized”adds the organization.
