In Paris, during the Olympic Games, there are the athletes, there are the organizers, there are the tourists and… there is a team of scientists from the Pasteur Institute, the Emergency Biological Intervention Cell (CIBU), particularly mobilized to analyze the microbes that could play spoilsport.
Fifteen million visitors expected during the Olympic Games and a mix from all over the world bring, of course, their enthusiasm, but perhaps also viruses or bacteria, which could cause, for example, an epidemic. These microbes must be identified quickly. These people come from different areas, so they can bring viruses or bacteria, for example, the dengue virus. », explains Valérie Caro, head of the Pathogen Genotyping unit within the Emergency Biological Intervention Unit, the CIBU.
The pole plays a key role in avoiding an epidemic: “ Now, we have the mosquito capable of transmitting the virus present throughout the territory. We are also here to report any beginning of emergence of viruses and bacteria of higher risk, for example the Lassa fever virus. So it is important to be able to diagnose these viruses for the care of patients and to avoid an epidemic outbreak. “, continues the scientist.
A mobile cell capable of reacting at any time
The CIBU can intervene 24/7, at the request of hospitals or authorities. It was created a little over 20 years ago, after the episode of the envelopes contaminated with anthrax in the United States, which followed the attacks of September 11, 2001. It puts all its skills at the service of the Olympic Games, with its highly equipped laboratories (within the Pasteur Institute), equipped in particular with several sequencers. It even has an ultra-secure mini-laboratory, which can be moved on the ground. It looks a bit like a big transparent plastic incubator with aluminum uprights. There are sleeves. You put your hands inside with gloves », says Anne Le Flèche, head of the Bacterial Identification department.
In view of the Olympic Games, the CIBU can identify a wide range of viruses: ” We’re going to do the first steps of extracting genetic material, DNA or RNA, from the sample we just received. It could be blood, it could be urine, it could be serum, a little bit of everything, explains Anne Le Flèche. And then, we will be able to do multiplex PCRs, that is to say we will detect and identify between 25 and 40 bacteria, viruses and parasites in a single test, for example chikungunya, malaria, dengue. And that is what we have expanded for the Olympics. »
Also read: Paris 2024 Olympics: Long-format report from the temporary Olympic polyclinic
The CIBU has thus prepared for the Olympic Games. But the Olympic Games and the mixing of populations that they induce will also be an opportunity for these scientists to conduct research. They will install in closed places, such as bars, a device that takes air and can then analyze it. The objective of this project is therefore to already know the circulation of pathogenic agents, because we do not have very detailed knowledge of what is happening in the air, explains Valérie Caro, head of the Pathogen Genotyping division, and then, possibly, implement monitoring tools for these agents. “The Olympic Games will therefore also be a very serious playing field for these scientists.
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