Two hundred and fifteen thousand infants immunized, and how many hospitalizations avoided? The question has been asked since the launch, on September 15, 2023, of a first health campaign aimed at protecting newborns from serious forms of bronchiolitis. A campaign victim of its success: doses of Beyfortus, this monoclonal antibody developed by the Sanofi and AstraZeneca laboratories, met with strong support from families – exceeding 80% acceptance on the part of parents, against 30% expected by the authorities health. To the point that pharmacy delivery had to be interrupted, a few days after the administration of the first doses, to give priority to maternity wards.
Two additional studies, one carried out by Public Health France (SPF), the other by the Pasteur Institute, and made public on Friday April 26, provide the expected scientific evaluation of the impact of the nirsevimab treatment, the name Beyfortus scientist. According to modeling carried out by the team of epidemiology researcher Simon Cauchemez, from the Institut Pasteur, 5,800 hospitalizations for bronchiolitis, after going to the emergency room, were avoided between September 15, 2023 and January 31, 2024. That is to say a reduction of 23% of hospitalizations for bronchiolitis among young children, he figures, and 35% among babies aged 0 to 2 months.
While bronchiolitis affects 30% of infants each year and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), targeted by Beyfortus, is the main cause, 2% to 3% of babies under 1 year old must be hospitalized, which largely contributes to the congestion of already saturated pediatric services. The positive impact of Beyfortus can be seen very strongly in infants aged 0 to 2 months: “In all other age groups, between 2 months and 1 year, the peak in hospitalizations this winter was similar to that expected, describes Simon Cauchemez. On the other hand, in newborns, it was halved. »
600,000 doses secured for winter 2024
Results confirmed by the study carried out by Public Health France: this time it is not a question of modeling but of a survey “in real life” involving 288 infants hospitalized for bronchiolitis in twenty pediatric intensive care units. Of these, 238 were infected with RSV. The effectiveness of Beyfortus treatment was evaluated between 76% and 81% for severe forms leading to hospitalization in intensive care, according to SPF. In other words, the risk of being admitted to intensive care for RSV bronchiolitis is reduced by approximately 80% for infants who received the treatment.
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