VIRUS 5,565 children under two went to the emergency room for bronchiolitis in mainland France during the week of November 7 to 13
A child suffering from bronchiolitis is examined by a pediatrician. — F.Durand/SIPA
The school holidays of All Saints marked a slight lull which could be “transient” The bronchiolitis epidemic remains at “a very high standard” in metropolitan France, have observed this Wednesday the health authorities. If surveillance indicators in children under two show a “decrease” in most metropolitan areas, Santé; Publique France has warned that this reflux “may be temporary at any time. the continuation of the school holidays of Toussaint”.
Overseas, Mayotte has entered the epidemic phase. If they have fallen, “hospitalizations for bronchiolitis represent for the second consecutive week half hospitalizations due to; a visit to the emergency room in children under two” in mainland France, underlined the health agency in its weekly report.
Record hospitalizations
A total of 5,565 children under the age of two went to the emergency room for bronchiolitis in mainland France during the week of November 7 to 13, a decrease of 20% compared with to the previous week. Some 2,027 children were eventually hospitalized. A week ago, Health Public France had reported visits to the emergency room and hospitalizations at; record levels “for over a decade”.
The intensity of the epidemic is more intense in half north of the metropolis and in Guadeloupe, according to the health agency. Common and highly contagious, bronchiolitis causes babies to cough and have difficult, rapid, wheezing breathing. If it is distressing for young parents, it is most of the time benign. In some cases, it may require a visit to the emergency room, or even hospitalization.
National emergency plan
This epidemic has struck pediatric emergencies plunged into a crisis linked to unsatisfactory working conditions and lack of staff. Under pressure, the Minister of Health triggered last Wednesday a national emergency plan, says ORSAN, planned for exceptional health situations, in order to “further strengthen the means of the ARS [regional health agencies] and allow the whole of the hospital can concentrate on this particularly acute problem today”.
A week earlier, François Braun had announced; new measures, in particular for pediatric services, for a total amount of approximately 400 million euros. With this early and intense epidemic, “pediatric practices are also in a situation of saturation,” Brigitte Virey, president of the National Union of French Pediatricians, Tuesday in Le Monde.