Anti-bronchiolitis drug ready in Italy

The Italian State-Regions Council has given the green light to the organisation of an immunisation campaign against bronchiolitis, an inflammation of the terminal bronchioles (i.e. the final part of the bronchi) caused by a respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). The disease typically manifests in children during their first year of life and can also be triggered by other viruses, including influenza viruses, common cold viruses, adenoviruses, and parainfluenza viruses. The campaign will be conducted with the monoclonal antibody Nirsevimab. The drug will be administered free of charge on a single-dose basis throughout the country. The initiative will initially encompass all children born after November 2024 and those born within 100 days of the campaign’s commencement. Patients with compromised immune systems under the age of two years will also be included in the program. The incidence of bronchiolitis infections should reach its peak between November and December. In Italy alone, the disease resulted in 15,000 hospitalisations in 2023. Of the total number of cases, 3,000 were admitted to the intensive care unit, and 16 patients died as a result.