With millions of visitors expected during the Olympic and Paralympic Games through early September, health authorities are closely monitoring certain diseases, such as Covid-19 and those transmitted by the tiger mosquito.
A global event and dizzying figures. From Friday, July 26 to Sunday, August 11, then from Wednesday, August 28 to Sunday, September 8, the Paris Olympic and Paralympic Games will attract more than 15 million visitors, including nearly 2 million foreigners, according to projections from the capital’s tourist office. (PDF)Not to mention the thousands of athletes, accompanied by their staff, and the approximately 20,000 foreign journalists who will also be there, according to estimates by Public Health France (SPF).
While these population movements are expected to be positive for the French economy, they are being closely scrutinized by health authorities who fear a resurgence of certain diseases, such as Covid-19 or whooping cough, which are on the rise throughout Europe. Or diseases transmitted by the tiger mosquito, which is very present in the Ile-de-France region, and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). For example, the Emergency Biological Intervention Unit (Cibu) of the Pasteur Institute has been preparing for months for “diagnose a much wider range of viruses and bacteria than usual”explains its director, Jean-Claude Manuguerra, to France 3 Paris-Ile-de-France.
Why are health authorities developing such devices? “To date, there is no cause for concern or particular warning sign”writes Marie Bâville in an article, Deputy Director of Monitoring and Health Security at the General Directorate of Health and head of the health crisis center at Inserm. But it is necessary “to be careful” And “prepare for all eventualities because the mixing of thousands of individuals could promote transmissions”. Starting with Covid-19, which has been on the rise since the beginning of the summer. After the Tokyo Olympics were held under lockdown in August 2021, athletes and organizers fear that the disease will once again disrupt the competition, forcing some to withdraw in the event of contamination. Several athletes have been forced to withdraw from sporting events in recent months, such as the Dauphiné Criterion, the Tour de France and the French Athletics Championships. The French Judo Federation also had to cut short a preparation camp at the Creps in Montpellier, less than 20 days before the start of the events.
Sars-CoV-2 is not only worrying athletes. At the beginning of June, Public Health France (SPF) recorded, over one week, a 52% increase in visits to emergency rooms and a 51% increase in calls to SOS Médecins (1,507 procedures from June 3 to 10) because of the virus. “Less than 50 days to go until the Olympic Games”infectiologist Benjamin Davido was worried on franceinfo that the population had “lost the reflex, when we are sick, to mask ourselves, and quite simply to get tested to avoid contaminating people and creating clusters”.
And even if SPF notes a stabilization of the circulation of the virus at the beginning of July, with a “moderate impact on the healthcare system”the large number of visitors expected for the Paris Games calls for vigilance. “We are far from last year’s peaks, but with the Olympics, gatherings could cause a slight rebound in the epidemic”warns journalist and doctor Damien Mascret. “The only real risk would be the emergence of a new variant for which our immunity would be naive or weakened. But for the moment, we are still in variants from Omicron”he continues. However, as of June 26, only 25.2% of people over 60 had received a booster dose of vaccine adapted to this variant of Covid-19, according to SPF.
In addition to respiratory diseases, health authorities are also concerned about the proliferation of arboviruses, diseases such as dengue, zika or chikungunya. They are transmitted from person to person via bites from the tiger mosquito, present throughout France. In addition, the first indigenous case of dengue, i.e. a person who contracted the virus without having previously traveled to a risk area, was detected in Hérault on July 8. “The sick person has been taken care of and his state of health does not give rise to concern”the ARS said, specifying that it had deployed “preventive actions” For “prevent the spread of the virus locally”.
How will the situation evolve with the arrival of thousands of tourists from risk areas? In mid-April, health authorities warned of a situation “unpublished” of imported cases in mainland France, linked to an outbreak of dengue fever in the Americas and the Caribbean, and called for increased vigilance in the run-up to the Olympic Games, which are favorable to the mixing of populations. From January 1 to April 30, 2,166 imported cases of dengue fever were recorded in mainland France, compared to an average of 128 cases over the same period in the previous five years, according to data published at the end of June. The 2023 record for imported cases (2,019) was thus broken in four months. “I don’t know what proportion of people with arbovirus will be present for the Games, but their vacation time will be very short,” which will limit the risks of very rapid spread of the disease, reassures epidemiologist Yves Buisson. These reinforced vigilances also have a preventive role for caregivers and the general public.
“If we detect the first cases quickly, we will be in a position to react.”
Yves Buisson, epidemiologistto franceinfo
This reactivity thus helps to limit the spread of the virus. On the one hand, by informing doctors of the risks of encountering these unusual diseases in Ile-de-France, so that they can correctly refer patients and be attentive to weak signals, these symptoms common to many diseases such as fever, rashes, nausea and vomiting. On the other hand, by using repellents, asking people at the scene of the infection to wear long sleeves and local residents to empty stagnant water. To limit the epidemic risk, mosquito control operations have also been set up in Ile-de-France.
Prevention is also particularly necessary for sexually transmitted infections (STIs). “It is not excluded that in this context of exchanges, there are more impromptu and unprotected sexual relations”warns Dominique Costagliola, emeritus research director at Inserm, on the institution’s website. Even if this risk remains “difficult to assess” due to lack of knowledge of visitor profiles, “We will need to prepare for the possibility of an increase in emergency situations for prescriptions for post-exposure treatment against HIV or screening for sexually transmitted infections”she adds.
On the athletes’ side, more than 200,000 male condoms, 20,000 female condoms and 10,000 “oral dams” will be distributed in the Olympic village, announced the Games organizing committee (Cojop). “An awareness campaign will be deployed within the Games polyclinic”promises the Paris 2024 committee to Sidaction, which adds that “screening tests, mainly for HIV, will be carried out and [qu’]support may be initiated if necessary”.
On the spectator side, Santé publique France has made several posters available concerning sexual health, aimed at French-speaking and non-French-speaking audiences. The public health agency has also rebroadcast an information campaign on sexual health, between May 21 and June 9, but it is only written in French and does not specifically concern the period of the Games. For Damien Mascret, “Tourists and athletes should be informed about the risks of sexually transmitted diseases and about the free services they can take advantage of.”