​Since the last ECDC update on 17 June 2013, 13 new confirmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) and two deaths have been reported by the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia.

​In May 2013, Israel announced the detection of wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) in the south of the country (1). As reported until mid-August, during the routine monitoring of sewage samples the virus had been found in 67 sewage samples from 24 sampling sites since February 2013.

​As of 3 October, wild-type poliovirus 1 (WPV1) was still being isolated in wastewater treatment plants across the country with some areas indicating an inconsistent or discontinued detection. However, no new sites in Israel with WPV1 in sewage were detected since the start of the bivalent oral polio vaccine (bOPV) immunisation campaign, according to personal communication from the Ministry of Health in Israel.

​Ten of the 22 acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases in the Syrian Arab Republic suspected of being caused by wild poliovirus have been confirmed as wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) by the World Health Organization (WHO).

​​By 22 November 2013, 160 cases of MERS have been reported. All cases have either occurred in the Middle East or have direct links to a primary case infected in the Middle East.

​In March 2013, Chinese authorities announced the identification of a novel reassortant A(H7N9) avian influenza virus in patients in eastern China.

​In March 2013, Chinese authorities announced the identification of a novel reassortant A(H7N9) influenza virus in patients in eastern China. Since then, human cases have continued to be reported, and as of 7 February 2014 (Figure 1), there have been 308 laboratory-confirmed cases: Zhejiang (122), Guangdong (54), Shanghai (42), Jiangsu (36), Fujian (19), Hunan (7), Jiangxi (5), Henan (4), Anhui (4) ,Beijing (3), Shandong (2), Hebei (1), Guangxi (2), Guizhou (1), Hong Kong (4) and Taiwan (2). In addition, the virus has been detected in one asymptomatic case in Beijing. 

​On 30 September 2014, the US Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) announced the first imported case of Ebola linked to the current outbreak in Western Africa.

​On 29 September, the Austrian Department of Health reported a confirmed case of MERS-CoV infection in a citizen of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia recently arrived in Austria.

​On 18 October 2014, the Ministry of Health Turkey reported that a Turkish citizen working in Saudi Arabia died on 11 October 2014, ten days after onset of a confirmed MERS-CoV infection.