Jean Eudes Demaret has been diagnosed with Crohn's disease by the medical staff of his Cofidis team. The Frenchman participated in the Tropicale Amissa Bongo (January 19-24), but finished the race very weak. Demaret was suspected to have a severe bacterial infection that required heavy treatment in a hospital in Gabon.
Demaret has had to go through a range of clinical tests. "Despite the medical treatment well done at the hospital [in Africa] with antibiotic treatment and re-hydration, the state of health of Jean Eudes did not improve," said Jackie Maillot, the team's doctor. "This forced us to extend our investigation and we found evidence for an inflammation of the intestines, Crohn's disease."
Maillot said that this disease is a genetic one. "It could have surfaced without the trip to Africa, but the bacteria probably accelerated it." Now the medical staff is busy getting Demaret healthy as quickly as possible. "The specific treatment for this disease started a few days ago, with a slight improvement and better blood values."
Despite going in the right direction, a return to racing is currently out of the question. "It is too early to envision a date when Jean Eudes can take up his sports activities again, but I think we will have a better idea in about 15 to 20 days," Maillot said. "The recovery period will be long, given that Jean Eudes lost a lot of weight - about 15 kilograms."