This is one of the consequences of the decline in our vigilance vis-à-vis barrier gestures: an early epidemic of bronchiolitis is hitting children at the moment. Avoiding kisses to babies, washing comforters and airing the room: the health authorities recalled this Thursday some precautions to protect the little ones from the virus.
A dangerous virus for toddlers
“It is a frequent disease and most often benign”, but “very young children, in particular aged less than two months, can present more serious forms which may require hospitalization, sometimes in critical care”, underlines the Ministry of Health in a press release.
The epidemic is early this winter and has affected all of metropolitan France since the beginning of November. The authorities fear that it will be stronger than usual, since the confinement and the anti-Covid barrier gestures of last winter had also blocked the RSV (respiratory syncytial virus), responsible for bronchiolitis.
Restrict contacts
To protect “infants and young children”, the ministry recommends “limiting visits to the circle of very close and non-sick adults”, and avoiding “kissing and passing from arm to arm” as well as visits to “young children before three months of age. We must also “wash our hands before and after contact with the baby (especially when changing, breastfeeding, bottle or meal)”, and “regularly wash toys and comforters”.
In addition, the health authorities advise to “avoid as much as possible family gatherings, very crowded and closed places such as supermarkets, restaurants or public transport, especially if the child is less than three months old”. Parents should also “wear a mask in case of a cold, cough or fever”, and if other older children in the family have “symptoms of viral infection”, they should be “kept away from the baby to the acute phase of the infection”.
It is also necessary to “ventilate the child’s living space daily, in particular the bedroom”, and “avoid entering the community (nurseries, nurseries, etc.) before three months”. Finally, the ministry insists on the importance of “first vaccinations”, so that the baby is “protected as quickly as possible from severe infections in early childhood”.