On 5 September 2012 the European Commission decision amending Decision 2000/96/EC as regards tick-borne encephalitis was published. As a result tick-borne encephalitis is added to the list of diseases to be covered by epidemiological surveillance within the Community.
On 22 June 2012 the Hellenic Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (KEELPNO) reported the first locally acquired case of Plasmodium vivax (P. vivax) malaria, from Marathon area in Attica region, Greece. As of 3 September, KEELPNO has reported 50 cases of malaria since the beginning of 2012 in Greece.
The study compares the incidence and serotype distribution of invasive pneumococcal disease (IPD) for pneumococcal meningitis and non-meningitis IPD in children from 2007 to 2010 with reference to the pre-vaccination period from 1997 to 2001 in Germany.
A second case of local Plasmodium vivax malaria in Greece was reported on 17 July by KEELPNO, the Hellenic Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The case concerned a 48 year old female resident of the municipality of Evrotas, Lakonia.
On 22 June 2012, a case of locally acquired malaria infection was reported in Greece. The case is a 78 year old Greek citizen who presumably acquired the infection close to Marathon, Attica region.
ECDC, through the VBORNET network, publishes regularly on its website maps on exotic mosquitoes and on phlebetomines - to provide the ECDC stakeholders and the general public with the most updated information on vector distribution. The maps are updated and improved quarterly.
This study found a marked reduction in vaccine serotype carriage after PCV7 implementation. The overall pneumococcal, H. influenzae and S. aureus carriage decreased slightly, but not significantly.
This study, strong of an almost complete follow-up of all children born in Denmark from 2003 to 2008, provides evidence that the DTaP-IPV-HiB vaccine is not associated to an overall increased risk of febrile seizures and epilepsy.
Despite a reduction in pertussis among younger children and infants, rates of pertussis-related sickness and death remain high compared with rates for other vaccine-preventable diseases in England and Wales.