the essential
Toulouse is hosting the 88th congress of the French Society of Internal Medicine until June 21. Among the themes covered: emerging infectious diseases in the context of climate change, mass tourism and migration.
For its annual congress, the French National Society of Internal Medicine (SNFMI) stops in Toulouse, from June 19 to 21. More than 1000 registrants will discuss the management of hereditary metabolic diseases, platelet diseases or new molecules. A session will be devoted to emerging infectious diseases in the context of climate change. Explanations with Professor Laurent Alric, internist at Toulouse University Hospital, president of the congress.
Read also :
Covid-19: deer, hamsters, mink… should we be afraid of zoonoses, these diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans?
Read also :
“Dengue”… “Crimea-Congo” fever, these diseases from the tropics which worry
The congress addresses the issue of emerging infectious diseases linked to climate change and population movements, what is it?
Infectious diseases can be linked to a virus, parasite or bacteria. In each of these families, we have examples of diseases that emerge because they are linked to changes in climate and population movements. The cases of arboviruses, such as Zika, chikungunya, dengue or West Nile are very interesting. These are viruses transmitted by the tiger mosquito which, due to climate change, is now flourishing everywhere. Through this permanently installed vector, we can catch these viruses without leaving home: a traveler bitten in a tropical area brings back the virus, is bitten again on his return by a tiger mosquito which bites another person. By treating in the area around the infected person, we are able to contain the epidemic, but other transmissions concern us.
Read also :
Epizootics, pandemic risks: in Toulouse, vets hunt viruses to better identify their mode of transmission
Read also :
Deer, wild boars, plants, humans: how hepatitis E plays across inter-species boundaries
Which virus is currently alerting you?
West Nile virus, which can cause fever and neurological manifestations, and is known to have intermediate hosts between mosquitoes and humans. Migratory birds can carry it, as can horses. Small epidemics were thus spotted in Greece in 2022 or in the Aquitaine region in 2023 with 40 cases recorded. This is the example of a virus that could be installed continuously; the animal reservoir becomes contaminating for the human population.
Read also :
Toulouse. This tropical parasite that “spreads terror”
Do you also recall the case of bilharzia which appeared in Corsica in 2013?
Yes and it’s all the more interesting since it all started from Toulouse! It was thought that this parasitosis, which causes disorders of the urinary system, did not exist in France. Several members of the same Toulouse family, who went on vacation to Corsica, contracted the virus after swimming in the Cavu river. Research concluded that a person who came from an area where bilharzia is endemic urinated in the river. It thus contaminated the environment with parasites, which developed thanks to freshwater snails – bulins – which did not exist before. Another story of population movement, intermediate host and modification of the natural environment linked to climate change.
