The United Kingdom sounds the alarm and adapts its prevention strategy to the syncytial respiratory virus (VRS). After observing an unprecedented outbreak of hospitalization in Australia during the 2025 southern winter, especially in babies and young children, British experts anticipate a high -risk winter.
The NHS (British public health system) now deploys a reinforced vaccination campaign for pregnant women from 28 weeks of pregnancy, which protects the newborn from birth, a period when the risk of serious forms is maximum. This preventive strategy also extends to people aged 75 to 79, particularly vulnerable to the respiratory complications of the VRS. The British authorities also offer a new preventive treatment for premature babies: a unique injection of Nirsvimab, a monoclonal antibody which acts as a “protective armor” by conferring lasting passive immunity against the VRS. This mobilization across the Channel questions the preparation of other European countries, notably France, faced with this winter viral threat.
VRS, a major respiratory infection in the most fragile
The syncytial respiratory virus is one of the main causes of acute respiratory infection in early childhood. This pathology is easily transmitted by respiratory route, via cough, sneezing or contaminated hands. In infants, the VRS frequently causes bronchiolitis, viral infection of small bronchi which can quickly evolve towards respiratory distress requiring hospitalization. If the majority of cases remain mild with symptoms similar to a cold accompanied by coughs, babies under six months old, prematurers and children weakened by chronic pathologies have a high risk of serious complications. The VRS also represents a danger for people who are very old or immunocomic, in whom infection can cause severe pneumonies. The seasonality of the virus, which circulates mainly from October to March in the northern hemisphere, explains why the health authorities prepare their prevention strategies upstream of each winter period.
France mobilized with encouraging results
France is not to be outdone in the fight against the VRS. Each winter, this infection causes several thousand infant hospitalizations on French territory. According to the Ministry of Health, around 30 % of children under two are affected annually by bronchiolitis, of which the VRS is the main cause. French pediatric services regularly experience tensions during epidemic peaks, sometimes with situations close to saturation. Since the 2023-2024 season, France has won access to preventive immunization by Norsevimab (Beyfortus) for all infants. This monoclonal antibody, administered in a single injection, mimics the action of the immune system by specifically neutralizing the VRS before it could cause serious infection.
This national immunization campaign borne fruit: in 2024, nearly 5,800 hospitalizations could be avoided according to Public Health France and the Pasteur Institute. France now plans to expand its vaccination strategy by following the British example, especially for the vaccination of pregnant women, in order to protect their future babies from birth.