Consent in medical research

The law protects individuals with regard to medical research. Thus, to participate in a clinical research project, each person must be informed of what he or she is committing to.

Free and informed consent is not just a form to be signed. In the process, information must be presented in an understandable way and in such a way as to enable people to decide whether they want to take part in the research project as a participant.

When it comes to involving children, this information phase can be more complex. That's why, for its EpiArbo research project, the Institut Pasteur came up with the idea of using comics. A mission that obviously interested The Ink Link!

Arboviruses

In French Guiana, mosquitoes spread a number of viruses known as "Arboviruses". These cause diseases such as chikungunya, dengue and zika.

It's difficult to know how many people have been infected by these viruses. In some cases, the person may not be ill, or the symptoms may not indicate which arboviruses the person has contracted.

However, to implement public health measures and protect the most vulnerable, it is important to know which viruses have been circulating and what percentage of the population has been affected.

A study by the Institut Pasteur de la Guyane

2,500 people drawn at random from the Guyanese population will be visited by Institut Pasteur investigators.  If they agree to take part in this clinical research, these Guyanese will provide a small blood sample that will make it possible to find out which arbovirus they have already encountered.

Beforehand, the person concerned must be informed of all aspects of the study: why it is being carried out, how the samples will be analyzed, what the results will be used for, possible risks... This can sometimes be complex, especially for young children or people with poor reading skills.