An epidemic of scabies broke out at the Antibes police station. She recalls previous cases, linked to the lack of health investments.
Clearly, the French police are not spared. After tuberculosis in Asnières-sur-Seine (Hauts-de-Seine), it is the turn of the itch to invite itself in the police stations. Antibes paid the price: according to the newspaper nice morning, five agents were contaminated by this skin infection.
“There is nothing surprising. We are faced with a varied population, Commissioner Valérie Zettor told the regional daily. This is not the first time that this has happened at the police station, even if it is the first time that we have impacted officers. “
Precedents
In Autonomous 2012, an epidemic of scabies was also declared in premises in Vannes (Morbihan). Eight cases had been identified among the police and gendarmes. In the Val d’Oise, in Deuil-la-Barre, two police officers were also victims of this disease in October 2014. The police station had even received the “17 d’or”, a kind of “reward” distributed by the police unions which distinguishes the most dilapidated premises. Occasionally, epidemics break out here and there.
Contact with the “varied population” mentioned by the Riviera commissioner may explain the emergence of these epidemics in the premises of the police. Indeed, this disease can be linked to a form of precariousness that police officers are used to experiencing during their missions.
Hygiene of police stations
However, it is not the only explanation. The deleterious hygienic conditions specific to French police stations can favor the spread of these infections. Thus, the unions have long denounced the deplorable situation of the premises linked to budget restrictions.
Thus, these unions recently told us that the sanitary equipment to limit exposure to infectious agents was sorely lacking. There are many protocols to avoid, for example, contamination from people stopped by the police. But most sites do not have masks or gloves. Soap is a rare commodity, hydro-alcoholic gel a precious pearl.
The silence of the administration, reluctant to communicate about these epidemics, does not help matters. In Asnières, the newspaper Point recounted the pressure on officials to keep the tuberculosis case out.
Faced with the epidemic in Antibes, management indicates to nice morning to have employed great means. All floors of the establishment were cleaned as well as the cars. The chairs were thrown away and the rooms treated with smoke. To date, the risk of contracting scabies in these premises has been eliminated.
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