In January 2020, Pr Denis Malvy held his first press conference, after having received in his department the first official case of Covid-19 from France -

UGO AMEZ / SIPA

  • The Bordeaux University Hospital received on January 22, 2020 the first official case of Covid-19 in Europe.

  • The 48-year-old wine advisor had spent a few days in Wuhan, China as part of his work.

  • Denis Malvy, member of the scientific council, remembers how things quickly happened afterwards.

He remembers it like it was yesterday.

A year ago, on January 22, 2020, Pr Denis Malvy, infectious disease expert and member of the Scientific Council, welcomed at Bordeaux University Hospital the first official case of Covid-19 from France, and even from Europe.

Two other cases in France had been revealed almost at the same time, and treated at the Bichat hospital in Paris.

"It was played out within a few hours," recalls Denis Malvy, whom

20 Minutes

met this week, but it is the Bordeaux patient who has remained on the shelves as the first official case in the territory.

"He saw that something was happening in Wuhan"

It all started on the morning of January 22, with the reception at the CHU “of a lady of Chinese nationality who was passing through Bordeaux and who had a feverish syndrome.

"" We had been informed for several weeks that there was an epidemic related to a new coronavirus, which had just emerged in China, so we had received this lady, because any case imported from Southeast Asia and China in particular was considered suspect, ”says Denis Malvy.

In the afternoon, “we received another patient, of Chinese origin but of French nationality, who was returning from Wuhan, a city with which Bordeaux is twinned, and with which this man has commercial relations in the wine domain.

During his stay in Wuhan, he had also crossed paths with his family.

On his return to France, he began to become feverish, but he had clearly seen that something was happening in Wuhan, since people were already isolated, and that the population of the city was starting to be afraid.

On his own, he isolated himself and contacted SOS Médecins in Bordeaux, taking care to keep away from anyone.

"

The results of the analysis fall on January 23 at 6:30 p.m.

The man, 48 years old, wine advisor in Bordeaux, is transferred to the Bordeaux University Hospital.

He is greeted by a colleague of Denis Malvy, Duc N'Guyen.

"We thought, 'Well, we have two, but this last case looks like what could be a viral-type fever, with this deterioration in general condition. We took both, and it' went to the Institut Pasteur for analyzes. We counted the hours, and during that time I warned everyone, in my department as well as the administration, that we had two suspected cases. "

The results are impatiently awaited.

“On January 23, I called the Institut Pasteur on several occasions.

The director of the Institute asks us to be patient, and ends up telling me that she calls me back at 6.30 pm Duc N'Guyen joins me in my office, the director calls.

She said to me: "Here, I have the results of your two patients… I start with Madame, which is negative, as for Monsieur, I am in a position to confirm to you that he is infected."

Ah!

I then asked what was going to happen, she explained to me that I was going to have to alert the health authorities, and that behind a whole series of communication channels were going to be agitated… ”

"We dressed as if we were taking charge of an Ebola"

To stir, the word is weak.

“It may cause a bit of noise” adds the director of Pasteur, just to prepare the Bordeaux scientist.

“I then asked that she give me half an hour to breathe, which she gave me.

I told all the management, we were all a bit stunned.

Then the director of the CHU explained to us that in any case it was the minister who was going to speak.

Agnès Buzyn actually holds a first press conference, where she announces at the same time the three French cases.

The Bordeaux University Hospital then becomes for a few days the media epicenter of the news around this new coronavirus in France.

Our file on Covid-19

"This disease, we did not know it at that time" recalls Professor Malvy, to justify having placed the Bordeaux patient in intensive care.

“We hear that the disease is expressed with pneumonia, that we had to perform very rapid scans for diagnosis, we wonder what this story is, what the Chinese tell us and do not tell us… We also had no information on the level of contagiousness, so we took care of the very first patients in negative pressure rooms.

This is why we placed him in a sheave, with maximum precautions, since we dressed as if we were taking charge of Ebola, while in February this type of patient was taken in charge on an outpatient basis, since in reality he only had a moderate Covid ... "

"Mass was said"

He will nevertheless remain hospitalized for three weeks.

"We kept him for an extremely long time, when he should have returned to social life more quickly, with strict conditions of course ... But this patient, as well as the others who were to follow, have enriched our experience, since a moderate form. until a resuscitation form with intubation / ventilation, even if today we intubate much less, and better.

Much progress has been made in the treatment of this disease.

"

At what point Denis Malvy understands that the importation of this first case in France, signals the start of a global epidemic from which we still have not emerged, a year later?

"I am an infectious disease specialist with a tropical orientation," recalls the scientist.

I quickly rubbed shoulders with all kinds of epidemics, Ebola, Zika, chikungunya, dengue ... So from this case, and in the light of 40 years of experience, I told myself that in a world contracted like ours, the blow was gone and that Europe, the world, would be the sounding board for this phenomenon.

Mass was said.

After that, we weren't going to announce to the world at that time that there was going to be a pandemic, but we had to try to quickly put in place the phenomena that make it possible to anticipate the pangs of expansion, such as gestures. barriers, although they could not be imposed overnight either.

"

"The obligation to anticipate by watching and preparing"

One year later, when analyzing the phenomenon which continues to shake the planet, Denis Malvy believes that “more flexibility and coordination” will be needed in the management of future crises.

Because there will be others, he warns.

"This crisis puts us in front of the obligation to anticipate by the day before and by the preparation, for a better prevention, even if it is unfortunately not a question of preventing the following epidemics, because the blow started with the way in which we are suffocating nature.

But I also remember that this epidemic taught us perseverance.

When you reach a goal, it's a new beginning.

"

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