Leishmaniasis emergence in Europe is reviewed, based on a search of literature up to and including 2009.

This paper looks at the diagnoses of ill returned travelers that presented to EuroTravNet centres in 2008.

Details of two innovative initiatives designed by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to increase awareness of influenza and seasonal influenza were recently published on the CDC website.

Between 19 January and 17 February 2011, 10 cases of measles (eight laboratory-confirmed and two probable) were reported in Oslo, with the majority of cases in a mainly unvaccinated Somali community.

This paper describes a small retrospective observational study of Israeli travellers presenting to a tropical medicine clinic with a history of prolonged (4 weeks), non-traumatic arthralgia or arthritis over a 5 year period.

Few and limited occasions of dengue virus transmission have recently been reported in Europe, which were not unexpected considering the presence of the vector Aedes albopictus

Travel patterns are an important source of information to be considered when assessing the risk of spread of infectious disease outbreaks. However, local and regional particularities need to be taken into account.

The authors analyzed data on 444 imported cases of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in Sweden during the period 2000-2003. The risk for MRSA carriage or infection in returning travellers ranged from 0.1 per million travellers returning from Nordic countries to 59.4 per million travellers returning from North Africa and the Middle East. 

The authors present data on 15 individuals infected by Panton-Valentine leukocidin (PVL) -producing strains of Staphylococcus aureus. Intra-familial spread was documented in one case, and occupational transmission was most likely in another case. spa typing of the strains revealed a broad range of variants, though some strains were clonally related. Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) was found in three cases.

In September 2010, two cases of autochthonous dengue fever were diagnosed in metropolitan France for the first time. The cases occurred in Nice, southeast France, where the vector Aedes albopictus is established.