Bronchiolitis epidemics in France during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic: The 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons.
Sophie Vaux, Delphine Viriot, Cécile Forgeot, Isabelle Pontais, Yann Savitch, Agnès Barondeau-Leuret, Serge Smadja, Martine Valette, Vincent Enouf, Isabelle Parent du Chatelet
Author Information
Sophie Vaux: Santé publique France, Saint-Maurice, France. Electronic address: sophie.vaux@santepubliquefrance.fr.
Delphine Viriot: Santé publique France, Saint-Maurice, France.
Cécile Forgeot: Santé publique France, Saint-Maurice, France.
Isabelle Pontais: Santé publique France, Saint-Maurice, France.
Yann Savitch: Santé publique France, Saint-Maurice, France.
Agnès Barondeau-Leuret: Oscour Network, Réseau des urgences de Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (RUBFC), Fédération des observatoire régionaux des urgences (FedORU), Chalon-sur-Saône, France.
Serge Smadja: SOS médecins Grand Paris, Fédération SOS médecin, Paris, France.
Martine Valette: Virology Laboratory, Laboratory Associated with the National Reference Centre for Respiratory Viruses, Institute of Infectious Agents, Hospices Civils de Lyon, Lyon, France.
Vincent Enouf: National Reference Center for Respiratory Viruses, Institut Pasteur, Paris, France.
Isabelle Parent du Chatelet: Santé publique France, Saint-Maurice, France.
OBJECTIVES: We described bronchiolitis epidemics during the 2020-2021 and 2021-2022 seasons in France and their interaction with the COVID outbreak. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Data on family physician (FP) visits, emergency department (ED) visits, hospitalizations for bronchiolitis for children˂2 years, and hospital virological data were analyzed and compared with previous seasons (2015-2020). RESULTS: The 2020-2021 epidemic arrived very late, and its impact was lower than in previous seasons (2015-2020) (FP visits: -23%, ED visits: -38%, and hospitalizations: -30%). The 2021-2022 epidemic started early (week 40) and lasted for a relatively long time (13 weeks). The impact was higher than in 2015-2020 (FP visits: +13%, ED visits: +34%, hospitalizations: +28%). CONCLUSION: Findings from the 2020-2021 epidemic may be linked to the implementation of non-pharmaceutical COVID-19 prevention measures. For 2021-2022, findings may be linked to an "immunity debt" resulting from the lower impact of the previous season.
