Bronchiolitis epidemic gains momentum, flu epidemic begins

“The situation is serious,” pediatrician Rémy Salomon, president of the medical commission for the creation of public assistance – the Paris Hospital, summed up this Wednesday morning on France Inter. It is unlikely to succeed, especially in pediatrics. After a lull in early November around All Saints, the bronchiolitis epidemic has picked up again last week.

According to France’s weekly public health bulletin published this Wednesday, the two main indicators are up again (+24% of emergency calls and +26% of hospitalizations in one week), returning to levels reached two weeks earlier. The achieved values ​​are even at the record levels of “at least 10 years”.

The reasons are undoubtedly varied: co-circulation of RSV and other viruses that can cause bronchiolitis, possible “immune debt” in the sense that children will be less protected due to anti-COVID measures followed by their loved ones (a hypothesis far from scientific unanimity), and others

Is a “premature and especially intense” flu epidemic coming?

Regarding the influenza epidemic, the signals are starting to “light up,” Health Minister François Braun told RTL on Sunday. All figures are rising and are generally at a high level for this time of year, Public Health France reports in its weekly bulletin. In addition to Brittany, four new metropolitan areas (including Ile-de-France) have entered the pre-epidemic stage.

On Monday, pharmaceutical unions said they feared a “premature and especially intense” flu epidemic this winter. Vaccination progress is slower than last year, and several countries in the southern hemisphere, such as Australia, have been hit hard in recent months.