- In recent years, a virus has spread around the world, devastating tomato crops, but also peppers and peppers.
- The National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety sounded the alarm on Monday, fearing that the virus would also land on French plantations, the fifth European producer of tomatoes.
- Christine Tayeh, plant health expert, takes stock of this particularly destructive virus.
While the coronavirus is fueling panic, another virus is spreading worldwide, in the media shadow of its Chinese colleague. The ToBRFV (Tomato Brown Rugose Fruit Virus), more commonly sweetens in "tomato virus", alerts the National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety (ANSES). In a press release published on Monday, she warns France, still spared, against the spread of this epidemic.
Concretely, the virus, with very rapid transmission, ravages entire crops of tomatoes, peppers and other peppers. At the beginning confined to the Middle East, it spreads more and more in the world, to the point that France too risks being subjected to this virus. We took stock with Christine Tayeh, “expertise” coordinator within the Plant Health Laboratory at ANSES.
What is this strange "tomato virus"?
It is a relatively recent virus, which appeared in Israel and Jordan around the years 2014 and 2015. It attacks tomato, pepper and chilli crops, affecting the ripening of fruits, bleaching them and making them unfit for consumption. This virus also has the distinction of living a very long time without losing its harmful effect. It is transmitted by simple contact. Another way of spreading the virus is the seeds of infected plants, through which it quickly spreads in space.
In fact, the virus is transmitted very quickly, and causes damage. It is already widespread in America and in several European countries, notably bordering on France. There are no calculations yet on its impact on a crop, but we know that the yield is very affected and that there are a lot of losses.
Is this virus dangerous for humans?
The virus is in no way dangerous for humans, it is only dangerous for plants. If there is an inadvertent consumption of a plant affected by the virus, which is already very rare since it makes them unfit for consumption, there will be no health risk for humans.
So what would be the worst consequences imaginable?
In the most grim scenario, there would be a shortage of tomatoes, peppers and peppers. No variety of these vegetables that are resistant to the virus is known, nor is there any treatment at present, although several studies have already been carried out on this subject.
What is also currently being tested are the other species of the same family as these plants. For example, potatoes, which belong to the same family as tomatoes, have been shown to be resistant to the virus, while eggplant is still in doubt.
But it must be remembered that this scenario is by far the most pessimistic. In fact, many treatments are already being researched to try to find a solution against the virus. While waiting to be able to fight it, measures are taken to limit its spread as much as possible, which would already be an excellent thing.
What would it be like to do?
Emergency measures have been taken at European level to stop importing plants or seeds of these vegetables from contaminated countries. But at ANSES, and this is the aim of our press release, we think that more should be done, in particular not to import plants from these contaminated countries, and not only those sensitive to the virus.
There is also a campaign for structured surveillance and early detection of ToBRFV, which will allow rapid implementation of control measures. Finally, better research, for a more in-depth knowledge of the virus, will obviously be necessary.
Justice
Brittany: Its “French origin” tomatoes came from abroad, a wholesaler heavily convicted
Society
Food: Vegetable prices are increasing all the time, fruit prices are falling
- Planet
- epidemic
- Vegetables
- Health
- Virus
- Tomato