Italy is currently experiencing four clusters of autochthonous chikungunya cases in the cities of Anzio, Latina and Rome in the Lazio region, and the city of Guardavalle Marina in the Calabria region.
Two related clusters involving autochthonous transmission of chikungunya virus have been detected in the cities of Anzio and Rome. This rapid risk assessment provides detailed event background information and assesses the threat for the European Union.
This rapid risk assessment has been produced In the context of a cluster of four confirmed cases and one probable locally-acquired case of chikungunya in Var department, in southern France.
Illnesses caused by infectious diseases are common in children in schools or other childcare settings. Currently there is no common EU approach to the control of communicable diseases in schools or other childcare settings, and existing information is uncertain.
This Rapid Risk Assessment focuses on acellular pertussis-containing combination vaccines used in national vaccination programmes in the EU/EEA Member States.
Early in 2015, a shortage of acellular pertussis-containing vaccines was brought to the attention of ECDC. This risk assessment provides a detailed list of mitigation options available to Member States.
ECDC and EFSA have assessed the risk to the EU/EEA posed by a fatal human case of Bacillus anthracis infection in Bulgaria and concluded that this event represents a negligible risk to other EU/EEA countries.
This risk assessment considers the outbreak of chikungunya on the Caribbean island of Saint Martin in early December 2013 which expanded through the Caribbean during the first half of 2014. This is the first documented autochthonous transmission of chikungunya virus in the Americas.