Pneumonia and pneumonia are on the rise in France among children, an increase partly due to the end of barrier gestures linked to the Covid-19 epidemic.
- Pneumonitis and pneumonia are increasing among children in France. This is also the case in China.
- The circulation of the bacteria “mycoplasma pneumonia” is the cause.
- This increase in cases is associated with the end of barrier gestures linked to the Covid-19 epidemic.
Consultations for pneumonia with SOS Médecins are up 36% among those under 15 for the week of November 13 to 19, according to the latest national SOS Médecins information bulletin available on the SOS Médecins website. Public health France.
Mycoplasma pneumonia: “It is a bacterium which has circulation cycles at the international level”
Pneumonitis is an acute infection of the lung linked to a microbe which, when it affects an entire lobe of the lung, is called “pneumonia”, according to the civil hospices of Lyon. Patients may experience cough, sputum, fever, chills, shortness of breath and chest pain.
This pathology can be of viral or bacterial origin. This fall, it is rather the second option that would be in question, due to the circulation of the bacteria mycoplasma pneumonia. Indeed, between July and November, there was an increase in visits to the emergency room or consultations with SOS Médecins which went from less than 1% to almost 3%.
But why are these lung infections increasing among younger people? “We know that it is a bacterium which has cycles of circulation at the international level, approximately every 5 years, explains Bruno Lina, virologist, on BFMTV. However, the winter of 2023-2024 falls in the 5 years following the last time that mycoplama pneumoniae caused an epidemic at the international level with an increase in the number of cases.“
An increase in childhood pneumonia linked to the end of Covid-19
Another element of the answer: the end of Covid-19. According to Yasdan Yasdanpanahhead of the infectious diseases department at Bichat hospital, and director of the ANRS emerging infectious diseases, interviewed by FranceInfo : “It is normal that we see a greater increase given that there was Covid, the barrier gestures, and therefore that immunity has decreased. A priori, there are no links with what is happening in China.”
Since mid-October, in China, there has been a significant increase in respiratory illnesses and outbreaks of pneumonia among children. For the Chinese authorities, this increase in cases of respiratory diseases is mainly linked to the lifting of restrictions taken against the Covid-19 epidemic and to the circulation of known pathogens such as influenza, mycoplasma pneumoniae, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) and SARS-CoV-2.
On BFMTVAndreas Werner, president of the French Association of Ambulatory Pediatrics (AFPA), also indicates that his profession received a “alert” about the bacteria mycoplasma pneumoniae which mainly affects, according to him, children between 6 and 15 years old. For the moment, the situation remains under surveillance in France.
