The bronchiolitis epidemic is particularly severe this winter. But parents of infants will be able to count in the future on a new drug to prevent severe forms of this respiratory condition and on a messenger RNA vaccine with promising results.
This article is taken from the monthly Sciences et Avenir – La Recherche n°913, dated March 2023.
Virulent, severe and early. This winter, the bronchiolitis epidemic proved “very atypical in its scope and its beginnings. It is the most important of the last twelve years “, underlines Professor Albert Faye, head of the pediatric service at the Robert-Debré hospital (Paris). The first emergency admissions began at the end of last September, a month earlier than in previous years.
Another peculiarity: the age of the patients. Although bronchiolitis mainly affects children, hospitals have welcomed many more infants under 3 months this winter, “and unfortunately, it is in them that bronchiolitis can be serious “, deplores Brigitte Virey, president of the National Union of French Pediatricians (SNPF).
This respiratory condition, which mainly affects babies but also the elderly, is the second leading cause of infant mortality in the world. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes most cases. And like the majority of viral infections, doctors have few treatments to take care of the sick.
“One of the possible explanations for the resurgence of viral diseases this winter is the concept of “immune debt”Brigitte Virey proposed. It might be that the population today has less immune defenses because it has encountered fewer viruses in the past two years, in particular with the application of barrier gestures. However, this is surely not the only factor and this notion remains very controversial. “The last week of November, Public Health France recorded an exceptional epidemic peak with more than 8000 visits to the emergency room for bronchiolitis in children under 2 years old.
But recent announcements might change the situation as early as next winter. In November 2022, the AstraZeneca and Sanofi laboratories have […]
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