Since the arrival of the seasonal epidemic of bronchiolitis in the West Indies, between 10 and 20 weekly consultations have been estimated by the Regional Health Agencies during the last three weeks of last December. Activity remains “sustained” at the hospital at the start of 2022.
Respiratory ailments coagulate in the West Indies on the threshold of the New Year. In addition to the surge in the numbers of Covid-19 and the circulation of its new variant Omicron, which is accelerating, there is an epidemic of bronchiolitis.
According to the first surveillance, vigilance and alert bulletin for 2022 released by Public Health France Antilles, “the trend for pediatric emergencies was generally stable since mid-November 2021, but remained strong” as of December 31, in pediatric emergencies for bronchiolitis.
To this day, this epidemic is still ongoing in the two islands.
For Martinique
9 to 12 visits to children under two were recorded, of which a total of 15 were followed by hospitalization (…). This trend is explained by the closure of general medicine practices during school holidays.
For Guadeloupe, Public Health France specifies that:
the data relating to emergency visits for children under 2 years old cannot be interpreted due to a stoppage in the transmission of RPUs by the CHU since the beginning of December (2021-49).
In total, since the start of the epidemic, 105 emergency room visits for bronchiolitis have been recorded, half of which have been hospitalized.
At SOS doctors, since the first half of last November, “the data observed are in the usual variations” specifies Public Health France, compared to data from the two seasons prior to the same period.
“The impact of barrier measures”
In the current context of the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in France, the surveillance of infant bronchiolitis for the 2021-2022 season will make it possible, on the one hand, to monitor the impact of the barrier measures currently in force on the transmission of the virus. respiratory syncytial, the main cause of bronchiolitis in infants, but also to study the possible contribution of SARS-CoV-2 to the incidence of this pathology.
Recommendations to avoid bronchiolitis.
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The seasonal epidemic of bronchiolitis usually begins in mid-October, peaking in December. 30% of children under 2 are affected by this pathology each year in France.
See as well :
Monitoring of bronchiolitis Guadeloupe, Saint-Martin, Saint-Barthélemy
Martinique bronchiolitis surveillance