The bronchiolitis epidemic persists and the number of cases has increased sharply in recent days: 5,024 children under 2 years old were brought to the emergency room last week, 10% more than the previous week, reports Public health France in his last official bulletin (to download in PDF).
Among them, 4,454 (89%) were less than 1 year old. In details, 1,759 children (35%) were hospitalized, of which 1,633 (93%) were less than 1 year old. This resurgence of cases comes in an already tense context since certain pediatric services are saturated and understaffed.
Bronchiolitis, a common respiratory infection
So-called “infant” bronchiolitis is a common, mostly mild, respiratory infection that affects children under the age of two in the fall and especially in the winter. This highly contagious disease spreads epidemically. It is characterized by inflammation of the bronchioles, the small airways of the lungs, caused by a virus that causes blockage of these bronchioles. This year, the epidemic has affected all metropolitan areas as well as in the West Indies, with the exception of Saint Barthélemy.
In 70% of cases, bronchiolitis is caused by a respiratory syncytial virus (or RSV). In 30% of cases, it is adenovirus, parainfluenzae virus or rhinovirus. A nasopharyngitis of the child or the adult can thus be responsible for bronchiolitis in an infant present in the entourage.
Respiratory physiotherapy: good or bad?
If respiratory physiotherapy has become a reflex for many parents who want to facilitate their baby’s breathing, it is important to remember that the French National Authority for Health (HAS) recently published new recommendations judging the convenient ineffective in “infants under 12 months having a first acute bronchiolitis ”. Rather, it suggests a “regular nose wash (with physiological saline, editor’s note) and monitoring for signs of worsening ”.
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