Professor Xavier de Lamballerie, professor of virology at the University of Aix-Marseille, heads a laboratory dedicated to emerging viral diseases. He is a member of Covars, the Committee for Monitoring and Anticipating Health Risks created after the Covid-19 crisis.
Last year, Covars warned of the growing risk of diseases linked to the tiger mosquito (dengue, zika chikungunya) in mainland France, particularly with the Olympic Games (JO). Have your recommendations been followed?
When we make recommendations, we know that not everything will be followed immediately, but the important thing is to attract attention. Not everything was done according to our recommendations, but a lot of effort was made before the Olympics. Things moved in anticipation of outbreaks of emerging diseases.
Better monitoring of emerging diseases
So far, no health alerts related to the Games have been declared. Are the Olympic Games a sensitive time?
There is a lot of mixing, including a lot of potential introductions of viruses. But if you look at dengue fever, there are already several thousand imported cases every year. The Olympics don’t last very long. The risk of a major health problem is low, or rather after the Games. Once the sporting events are over, the question will remain the same: how can we better monitor emerging diseases? We need to monitor better, beyond the Olympics.
Is there awareness on this subject?
Yes. We can see that in health authorities and the scientific community, the subject has taken up space very quickly. Now, we need to move forward on certain points. In a Covars opinion last Aprilwe insisted on the importance of developing the information system. It takes a little time and it costs money, but we don’t have many alternatives.
Disease reporting systems are not relevant?
They are a bit old and quite basic. They only allow us to trace cases of human diseases. For dengue fever, which only affects mosquitoes and humans, this is not a problem, but for a virus like the West NileIt is insufficient.
Why and with what consequences?
West Nile passes from infected birds to mosquitoes, which bite horses and humans. We would need to interconnect this information, which should also be available in the software of the French Blood Establishment (EFS). If there is a lot of West Nile virus in a sector, the EFS must know it, to adapt, postpone its collections or use the right molecular tests…
