EPIDEMIOLOGY OF BRONCHIOLITIS IN FRANCE - A NATIONAL MULTICENTER STUDY

A large multicenter epidemiological study of bronchiolitis in infants under 2 years of age was conducted in France by the ''Groupe de Pathologie Infectieuse Pediatrique'' (GPIP) between october/l/l992 and march/30/1993. Sixteen hospitals participated to the study and 1545 observations were collected, 82% of which from hospitalized infants. The epidemic reached its peak in december in the North and Ile de France regions and in january in the South region. The mean age was 7.1 months with a peak between 2 and 7 months and without any differences among hospitals. In 36% of the cases, the case was a recurrence of bronchiolitis. Recurrence was correlated with the environment (urban and day-care) and with a history of bronchiolitis and asthma in the family. Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) was detected from nasopharyngeal aspirates in 58% of the cases. The detection rate of RSV was higher at the acme of the epidemic (64%) and among infants less than 3 months of age (74.8%). No correlation teas made between RSV detection and personnel and family history of bronchiolitis and asthma.