ARCHIVED - Child hospitalisations for bronchiolitis quadruple in a month in Spain
Severe cases have risen exponentially amongst children under four-years-old in Spain
Bronchiolitis hospitalisations amongst children under the age of 4 years old have quadrupled in just a month in Spain, a significant leap attributed in part to lower immunisation due to the lack of circulation of the virus over the last two years thanks to the use of masks.
According to data from the Epidemiological Surveillance Network of the Carlos III Health Institute, in week 45 of 2022, from November 7 to 13, the highest incidence rates of RSV-associated respiratory infections in hospitals were in the 0 to four years age group, with 79.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
A month earlier, October 7 to 23, the incidence rate in this age group was 19.5 cases per 100,000.
The latest figures from the same sources show the presence of bronchiolitis associated with RSV has shot up during the same period in the 0 to 14 age group, with 945.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, followed by those aged 5 to 14, with 195 cases per 100,000.
There has also been growth in Primary Care compared to a month ago. Between October 7 and 23, the incidence rate of RSV in children aged 0 to 4 years was 311.6 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest of all age groups.
The Spanish Society of Paediatric Emergencies (SEUP) is reportedly "concerned" about the high rates of the disease in children, especially due to the lack of certainty about when the peak will be reached and whether the severity of the disease will be higher than in previous seasons.
The pressure is already being felt in hospitals across the country with 40% more patients currently being treated than in 2019, and the high level of incidence has led to the saturation of pediatric emergency hospitals, according to the SEUP.
Image: Pixabay
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