Faced with the bronchiolitis epidemic, here is how to recognize the symptoms in children.
- Bronchiolitis is an acute viral infection, most of the time benign but which can be dangerous for babies under two months or very fragile infants.
- Between October 9 and 15, there were 1,950 visits to the emergency room among children under two years old due to bronchiolitis according to Santé Publique France.
- If a child is infected with this disease, a doctor should be consulted if the fever is very high, breathing is rapid or difficult, the chest is hollow, or if the child is eating much less.
Among the 6,506 medical procedures carried out by SOS Médocs for children under 2 years old between October 9 and 15, 393 (6%; +1 point in 1 week) were linked to bronchiolitis, according to figures relayed by Public Health France in his weekly report on acute respiratory infections published on October 18.
Bronchiolitis is increasing in France among young children
Among children under two years old, 1,950 visits to the emergency room for bronchiolitis were recorded. Among them, 597 were hospitalized, or 19.1% of hospitalizations (compared to 17.9% the previous week).
The health authority then warned that “activity linked to bronchiolitis in community medicine and hospitals continued to increase for bronchiolitis in children under 2 years old with the transition to the epidemic phase this week in Brittany, the Pays de la Loire and the Guyana“.
Bronchiolitis is an acute and contagious viral infection that affects the bronchioles, that is to say the small bronchi. Most of the time, bronchiolitis is a benign illness depending on health insurance. But babies less than two months old or very fragile infants, such as those born prematurely or suffering from a chronic illness, are more at risk of this pathology.
“I thought I was going to lose my daughter, quite simply, explains Lucie Andrane, mother whose daughter, aged two months at the time, was infected with bronchiolitis and hospitalized, in BFMTV. It’s impressive to see. His little chest was hollowed out painfully to try to breathe. For a mother it is very painful to see… almost unbearable.“
Bronchiolitis: distinguish the symptoms of the child which should alert
When the first symptoms appear, parents must be particularly vigilant to react as quickly as possible. According to the French Association of Ambulatory Pediatrics (Afpa)the pathology manifests itself by different signs:
- A cold with dry, repeated cough
- Breathing difficulties (faster breathing, noisy when exhaling)
- With or without fever
“If my child has usual behavior (eats, drinks and sleeps well, plays normally), I don’t worry, I remain attentive”, specifies Afpa, while listing the warning signs for which parents must quickly consult a doctor:
- Breathing much faster than usual
- Very high and/or poorly tolerated fever
- Gene for breathing and hollow thorax
- Dietary discomfort and reduction in ingested rations (<50% usual ration)
- Breathing much faster than usual
Since last September, the Beyfortus, un preventive treatment against respiratory synticial virus (RSV) infection, the cause of 80% of bronchiolitis according to health insuranceis available in France for all infants.
