Overboots, a waterproof hooded suit, two pairs of gloves… Just seeing the multiple protective equipment worn by the healthcare workers, we understand that it’s serious. For several weeks, a “very innovative” device has been the pride of the Angers University Hospital. The health establishment, regional referent for “epidemic and biological risk”, is in fact the only one in France to have Elytron. This is the name given to this “high isolation unit” intended to receive patients presenting symptoms of viral hemorrhagic fever (muscle pain, temperature, blood loss, etc.), such as the dreaded Ebola or Marburg viruses.
In this container of approximately 40 m2, transportable and deployable in a few hours, the objective is to avoid any contamination. The patient, arriving on a bubble stretcher which covers him, is placed in a negative pressure “room”, where the air is filtered extremely finely.
This is where he will stay for 72 hours, until the blood samples, in particular, are taken safely and the diagnosis is clearly established. On the other side of a treated tarpaulin, all the care equipment is already there, numbered, ready to use. In another space, close to the exit, the meticulous protocol for undressing caregivers is displayed.
A “leap” since Covid
“When you catch a highly pathogenic infectious agent from group 4, like Ebola, the lethality varies between 30 and 80%, explains Dr. Yves-Marie Vandamme, infectious disease doctor and epidemic and biological risk referent at Angers University Hospital. We must be able to take care of these patients, while continuing to treat others. But above all, protect caregivers who will be the first to be infected. This is what happened during the great Ebola epidemic in 2013-2014…” And which seems to be repeating itself with that of the Marburg virus which has been raging in Rwanda in recent days, causing 12 deaths since the end of September.
For the moment, no imported cases have fortunately been received in Angers. “A paradox to rejoice in equipment that we would never like to use,” observes Karen Burban-Evain, director of public and environmental health at ARS Pays-de-la-Loire, which finances the system at amounting to 600,000 euros. In the absence of patients, training courses have been organized in recent days, “a chance to be able to prepare well” and the tool would be of interest well beyond the department. “This is the essence of crisis management, and the sign that a leap has been made since Covid,” believes Karen Burban-Evain. Particularly in preparing to deal with emerging pathologies which are accelerating with human movement. »
Climate change is the source of new diseases
For Yves-Marie Vandamme, France could indeed face new diseases, with “infectious agents that we already know, such as with Mpox, which is increasingly adapting”. But climate change is also expected to give rise to exceptional health situations. “We did not see any indigenous cases of dengue or chikungunya before 2010 and now there are some,” notes the doctor. This is because transmission vectors, such as mosquitoes or ticks, are becoming more and more adaptable. »
In the meantime, the University Hospital indicates that the modular unit can also serve as a treatment location in the event of a massive influx of injured people, with enough space to install eight stretchers.
