in Amiens, a unique medical consultation in France on the effects of pesticides on children’s health

The consultation is open at Amiens University Hospital to parents of children suffering from pathologies which could have a link with pesticides, even if it is not easy to establish.

This is a first in France. A medical consultation on “pesticides and pediatric pathologies” opened at the Amiens University Hospital, in the Somme, on October 1. It is intended for parents of children suffering from leukemia, brain tumors or certain malformations. His pediatric pathologies which could have a link with pesticides. Although this link is not easy to establish, parents can be redirected to the pesticide victims’ compensation fund.

Emilie is one of these parents potentially candidates for the compensation fund. Seven years ago, she gave birth to a little boy, it was one of the happiest days of her life, but the midwives very quickly noticed a malformation, “distal hypospadias”, a malformation of the penis. which fortunately… does not present a vital risk. The parents nevertheless ask the doctor for explanations. “They asked me what my husband’s job was as a farmer, Emilie reports. They told him it wasn’t genetic, it could be the pesticides my husband was using.” This dates back to 2016, the parents did not go any further and the baby was able to grow up like the others. “He had an operation and today everything is fine”specifies his mother.

Scientific link difficult to establish

But since 2016, a compensation fund for pesticide victims has been opened for adults, as well as for children exposed to pesticides prenatally. “My husband doesn’t accept it because I’m trying to talk to him about it again, I told him that we were not entitled to compensation, says Emilie. He says that ‘anyway, we farmers are the bad guys, they do everything to make us disappear'”. Despite her husband’s opposition, Emilie makes an appointment at Amiens University Hospital with Sylvain Chamot, occupational doctor.

He is one of those who created a consultation to support families in their efforts. “Faced with the creation of this fund and seeing that it was little used, we said to ourselves that we must make this problem known to the general public because it is largely unknown”regrets Sylvain Chamot who, since last October, has received parents in his office. “These are long consultations in which we will take stock of all environmental exposures through the parents’ professional lifestylehe explains. And behind that, depending on what information we collect, we will more or less recommend a file to the Pesticide Victims Compensation Fund.”specifies the practitioner.

But he recognizes that the scientific link between childhood pathologies and phytosanitary products is difficult to establish. “Studies say that yes, applying pesticides is associated with an increased risk, but they are not much more precise than that”according to the doctor.

“The responsibility for the use of pesticides is societal.”

Sylvain Chamot, doctor at Amiens University Hospital

at franceinfo

The doctor comes up against the distrust of certain farmers, but he assures that the aim is not to make them feel guilty: “Farmers have a very critical view of the consultation. They think we want to kill their profession when not at all.” Currently reserved for residents of the Amiens region, this type of consultation could see the light of day in other university hospitals.