Surveillance of infectious outbreaks in the Calais and Grande-Synthe migrant camps helped limit the scale of three epidemics.
Three epidemics: this is what the health authorities and NGOs have avoided in the Calais refugee camp (Pas-de-Calais). In the space of a year, the joint work of NGOs and hospitals made it possible to limit the scale of several outbreaks of infections. Their efficiency and responsiveness are praised in an article in the Weekly Epidemiological Bulletin (BEH), published on September 5 by Public Health France.
At first glance, the conditions were not met to fight against infectious pathologies. In October 2015, more than 6,000 people populated the day-care center set up in Calais, the “new Jungle”.
Classic epidemics
At the same time, in Grande-Synthe (Pas-de-Calais), 2,500 refugees were living in the Basroch camp, which was unsanitary and prone to flooding. Between promiscuity and lack of access to health structures, all the elements were gathered for an epidemic.
Faced with the epidemic risk, the local epidemiology unit has set up a surveillance network. And the fruits of this surveillance have paid off. A good half of the consultations concerned infectious pathologies. But only three epidemics occurred between 2015 and 2016.
The first epidemic, in November 2015, was nothing unusual: the flu raged in the Calais camp, affecting around 100 migrants. A rapid vaccination campaign, organized by the NGOs on the spot, made it possible to avoid a subsequent resumption. Grande-Synthe was not so lucky. The delay in vaccination resulted in a second outbreak in February.
Chickenpox and measles
At the start of 2016, a more worrying outbreak occurred in Calais. A rare strain of measles is circulating in the refugee camp. Nine migrants, a volunteer and three caregivers are affected.
The import thesis is confirmed. A vaccination campaign is launched. It makes it possible to immunize 2,000 people in Calais and 450 others in Grande-Synthe. The approach works: the epidemic is halted quickly.
In the summer of 2016, it was chickenpox that took over. It infects 351 migrants living in Calais. Grande-Synthe is spared, while the population is largely made up of families.
The vast majority of cases concern adults. It must be said that the population, mainly Sudanese, is poorly immunized against this disease. Here again, a systematic vaccination campaign among contact persons makes it possible to put an end to the epidemic.
Forgotten mental health
The authors of this article draw many lessons from this success story. First, the long-feared import diseases did not happen. The pathologies observed were mainly linked to the conditions of extreme promiscuity.
Second, a responsive surveillance system is essential to end infectious outbreaks. But in the Calais camp, populated by more mobile and precarious migrants, vaccination campaigns have not always reached the target population. Suggesting this routine action could therefore be of interest from a preventive standpoint.
But one element is sorely lacking in this analysis, and researchers are not unaware of it: the management of psychological disorders is extremely lacking in the refugee camps. Post-traumatic stress and other mental illnesses are not targeted for follow-up. What could be improved.
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