In Paris, gardeners want to be vaccinated against leptospirosis

2023-06-01 09:51:00

Agents of the city of Paris, worried about the proliferation of rats in the parks, made a request for vaccination.

By Valentin Dechambre for Le Point

According to the municipality, the risk of contamination is not sufficiently characterized to require a vaccination campaign for all gardeners (photo illustration).
© HIMANSHU SHARMA / ANADOLU AGENCY / Anadolu Agency via AFP

Published on 06/01/2023 at 11:51 a.m.

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IThere are several million of them in Paris and leave no one indifferent: rats regularly sow discord in the capital. Faced with their proliferation in the city, some gardeners fear contracting leptospirosis, a disease transmitted to humans by rodents because of a bacterium present in their urine, reports The Parisian.

A situation that pushes city officials to request a vaccination. “The City gave me its agreement, on condition that I undertake to do all the reminders. There is no obligation, but you can ask for it, explains Sébastien, employed for twenty years in the direction of green spaces (Deve). But it would seem normal to me that we offer it to all agents, because yes, we are exposed. The National Academy of Medicine recalled that the rat remains a threat to humans because of “many zoonoses transmissible by its exoparasites, its droppings, its bites or its scratches”.

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The reluctant Town Hall

In addition to the health side, the subject is also political. Geoffroy Boulard, mayor (LR) of 17^e borough, believes that the request is “legitimate”. “In the current context of the resurgence of rats in gardens, we can worry about the public health policy vis-à-vis the agents carried out by the executive, affirms the elected official. If necessary, I will offer vaccination by professionals to the gardeners of the 17^e. It’s not up to me to do it, but I won’t hesitate if nothing is done to protect our agents, ”he warns in the daily columns.

READ ALSOParis and rats: such a long story

These health risks are nuanced by the City of Paris, which explains that “the rat, very fearful, is not a predator by nature”. She believes that transmissions are reduced because “there must indeed be direct or indirect contact between humans and animals, and direct contact is extremely rare”. Thus, the City ensures that gardeners are not really exposed to a health risk by being in contact with rodents. She also justifies this choice by the heaviness of the vaccination process (3 primary injections and a booster every two years with side effects).

In 2017, the City of Paris estimated the annual cost of eradicating rats at 1.5 million euros, a cost including all measures (rat eradication campaigns, cleanliness actions, change of street furniture, etc. .). Among the reasons for the rise to the surface of the rats are the numerous works undertaken in the capital. One year from the Paris Olympics, the soap opera should therefore continue.

READ ALSOBordeaux: why rats proliferate in the city

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