This week is organized the Pasteurdon donation campaign, with which Europe 1 is associated.

Invited Wednesday morning, the deputy head of the National Reference Center (CNR) on respiratory viruses at the Pasteur Institute, Sylvie Behillil, explains that these donations will be used, among other things, for research on the coronavirus.

INTERVIEW

On the occasion of the launch of the fourteenth edition of Pasteurdon, with which Europe 1 is associated, Sylvie Behillil, deputy head of the National Reference Center (CNR) on respiratory viruses at the Institut Pasteur, was the guest of the morning, Wednesday.

She detailed at length the role played by the Pasteur Institute during the outbreak of the coronavirus epidemic in France.

It is now launching a call for donations: "Generosity is essential for research, in particular on the Covid"

>> LIVE

- Coronavirus: follow the evolution of the situation Wednesday October 7

Sylvie Behillil reminds that the Institut Pasteur lives in part thanks to donations from individuals or various donors, representing 45% of its budget.

While the epidemic is still raging, this generosity is essential today: "This makes it possible to finance research projects on Covid-19, particularly in terms of treatments, vaccines. But there are also other projects of research which could be financed thanks to these donations, in particular on cancers, neurodegenerative diseases, the intestinal microbiota, etc. "

On the Covid, progress and a part of the unknown

The Pasteur Institute played a key role in setting up tests for the detection of the disease, but also in the sequencing of the virus and its cultivation.

Even if he had already studied similar viruses, the part of the unknown is colossal.

"We have learned a lot since January because it was a virus that we did not know at all. On the other hand, we still wonder why, in some patients, the infection can be very long. "

The persistence in some infected people but also the causes of severe forms of the disease are still to be explored.

"We are moving forward every day and I think that we will still discover things in the months to come."

>> ALSO READ

- Coronavirus: what if the Institut Pasteur de Lille had found the miracle treatment?

The Pasteurdon campaign runs from October 7 to 11.

An online conference, visible on the Institut Pasteur website, is being organized and will allow researchers to talk about the latest advances on Covid-19.