2023-11-24 16:24:42
Sinenkiy via Getty Images a sick child is in her bed
Sinenkiy via Getty Images
Pneumonitis is up 36% among those under 15 for the week of November 13 to 19, 2023, according to Santé Publique France.
HEALTH – While China is facing an increase in the number of respiratory diseases, in France too, pneumonia is increasing. In recent weeks, pediatricians have reported an outbreak of cases among children. A bacteria is suspected of being at the origin of this increase in cases: “mycoplasma pneumoniae”.
From November 13 to 19, 2023, Public Health France recorded 700 SOS Doctors consultations and 2,150 visits to the emergency room for pneumonia in children under fifteen. Figures higher than those ever recorded for at least ten years.
France is witnessing a particular resurgence of this bacteria, infections of which have become rarer in recent years. A ” delayed re-emergence » according to the scientific journal The Lancetthanks to the health restrictions put in place since Covid.
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Under special supervision
“It is rarely a very nasty germ, so we are absolutely not in the same situation as during Covid. But we still have to monitor and see how things evolve. Some children can end up in the emergency room, and, in extremely rare situations, in intensive care,” confirms Dr Andreas Werner, pediatric allergist in Villeneuve-lès-Avignon (Gard) and president of the French Association of Ambulatory Pediatrics to our colleagues at The cross.
Doctors are particularly concerned about the health of children aged between 6 and 15, who are more prone to mycoplasma infections. Many cases have been recorded in primary schools and middle schools. “These are so-called acute community pneumonias, that is to say they are not caught in the hospital, but in the city”indicates virologist Bruno Lina to BFM-TV.
A bacteria well known to doctors
Unlike SARS-CoV-2 (responsible for Covid-19), “mycoplasma pneumoniae” is a bacteria studied by scientists since its discovery in 1944. Contamination occurs through contact with large droplets present in coughs or sneezes. ‘a sick person. Each year, it causes a peak in pneumonia as winter approaches, the period we are in.
At the start of the infection, the symptoms of this disease are similar to those of a cold: runny nose, sore throat, fever, fatigue, cough, difficulty breathing, etc. Often, recovery occurs naturally after two weeks of illness.
In rare cases, symptoms intensify and trigger complications that can lead to hospital admission. Pneumonia is the most dangerous form developed after a “mycoplasma pneumoniae” infection. Patients can then treat themselves with antibiotics (azithromycin, doxycycline or, sometimes, levofloxacin or moxifloxacin) prescribed by a doctor.
To diagnose this infection there is no rapid test, such as for influenza or respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Mycoplasma can be detected using a laboratory PCR test.
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