Osakidetza will launch an immunization campaign against acute bronchiolitis in babies on Monday

Next Monday, Osakidetza will begin immunization against acute bronchiolitis, focusing primarily on all newborns, premature babies and children under the age of 2 with a chronic disease.

Last year, Osakidetza immunized more than 90% ofthe target population , which reduced consultations in Primary Care and Hospital Emergencies by 35%and 50% hospitalizations for this disease in children under two years of age, which is 65% for children under three months of age.

As was done last season, the groups most at risk of severe acute bronchitis in this 2025-2026 campaign will be immunized, the Department of Health said in a statement.

These groups are: newborn babies, who will be immunized throughout the campaign (autumn and winter); babies under 3 months of age, who will be vaccinated in the first weeks of the campaign; premature children under one year of age; and children under 2 years of age with certain lung diseases, cardiological, neurological or immune diseases, which will be reported directly to their families by paediatric specialists.

Acute bronchiolitis is a respiratory infection that mainly affects children under the age of two. At first it appears with symptoms similar to cold, such as mucus, cough, or fever, and after a few days other symptoms may appear, such as respiratory difficulties, whistles, or fatigue in taking milk.

The epidemic usually occurs between October and March, with a maximum incidence between November and December. Although acute bronchiolitis will not be severe in most cases, it affects the quality of life of children and their families for a long time, and also causes a significant overload on the health system in a short period of time.

Bronchiolitis is a disease caused by different viruses, the most important of which is the Syncytial Respiratory Virus. There is no specific treatment, and the most effective measures are those that increase the comfort of the affected person, such as cleaning nasal secretions and administering antithermal drugs during fever.

There have been prevention tools for years, including nirsevimab, an intramuscular antibody before contact with the virus in a single dose that can prevent the disease and, most importantly, avoid the most serious forms of acute bronchiolitis.

On the other hand, with the onset of the epidemic, all Osakidetza centres, both primary and hospital, will relaunch the 'Integrated Bronchiolitis Care Route', which includes activities to be carried out in paediatric patients with bronchiolitis to ensure best prevention, diagnosis and treatment practices, as well as homogeneous care from the outset.