To assess the level of preparedness of EU/EEA Member States to respond to zoonotic avian flu outbreaks, ECDC has carried out two surveys - one assessing the laboratory capacity for molecular diagnosis and characterisation of zoonotic influenza viruses, and the other focusing on measures applied to protect exposed people during outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza.
The aim of this survey was to review the expertise, capabilities and capacities for detection and characterisation of avian and other zoonotic influenza viruses in national influenza reference laboratories in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA), in members of the European Reference Laboratories for influenza (ERLINet), and in EU Enlargement policy countries.
This scientific report provides an overview of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) virus detections in poultry, captive birds, wild birds, and mammals that occurred in and outside Europe between 2 September and 1 December 2023, as well as human cases due to avian influenza viruses up until 1 December 2023.
This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 26 November - 2 December 2023 and includes updates on human infection with influenza A(H1N2)v, influenza A(H5N1), an overview of respiratory virus epidemiology in the EU/EEA, respiratory infections due to Mycoplasma pneumoniae in the EU/EEA, HIV/AIDS surveillance 2023 (2022 data), West Nile virus, SARS-CoV-2 variant classification, and poliomyelitis.
Poliovirus is highly contagious and infected individuals shed virus in the faeces and from oral secretions, thus the mode of transmission is person-to-person, both via the faecal-oral and the oral-oral routes.
In 2021, the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) updated the HIV targets for 2025 as part of the global strategy to end HIV transmission by 2030.
Migrants are a key population affected by HIV across Europe and Central Asia, accounting for 42% of new HIV diagnoses in the EU/EEA in 2021 and 48% of those diagnosed in 2022.
This report presents HIV/AIDS surveillance data for 2022, a year marked by increased population movements across Europe that have impacted HIV trends, particularly in EU/EEA countries.