four new regions enter epidemic phase

The annual epidemic of bronchiolitis, which mainly affects babies, has now spread to most of France, after accelerating in recent days, Public Health France announced on Wednesday, November 8. During the week ending November 5, “the activity linked to bronchiolitis was clearly increasing” in the territory, summarizes a weekly report from the agency.

Hauts-de-France, Burgundy-Franche-Comté, Nouvelle-Aquitaine and Occitanie are now considered to be in the epidemic phase. This brings the number of hexagonal regions in this situation to ten.

Breathing difficulties

Of the remaining three, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur are in the pre-epidemic phase. Corsica is still spared. In the overseas territories, Guadeloupe, Martinique and Guyana remain affected.

Bronchiolitis, caused primarily by respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), causes breathing difficulties in babies. Generally not serious, it can nevertheless lead to visits to the emergency room and hospitalizations.

In 2022, it was the cause of an unprecedented epidemic in more than ten years, driving tens of thousands of infants to hospital. The epidemic is currently smaller than at the same time last year. However, several indicators, such as consultations with private doctors and visits to the emergency room, show an acceleration last week, returning to the already high level of 2021.

One of the big questions concerns the effect of a new preventive treatment, Beyfortus from Sanofi. Initially offered to all babies born since February, it is currently reserved for maternity wards, pending new stocks.