Since April 2012, and as of 5 February 2024, a total of 2 617 cases of MERS-CoV, including 947 deaths, have been reported by health authorities worldwide.
The European Respiratory Diseases Forecasting Hub (RespiCast) is open for weekly submission of several respiratory disease indicators such as influenza-like-illness, acute respiratory infection and COVID-19.
Since the beginning of 2024, and as of 3 April, no MERS-CoV cases have been reported by WHO or national health authorities. The last reported case was in Saudi Arabia, with date of onset on 26 October 2023.
Several viral and bacterial respiratory pathogens are expected to continue co-circulating at variable levels during the coming months, and contribute to increased morbidity and mortality during this period. This is typical of every winter season.
ECDC urges EU/EEA Member States to strengthen vaccination campaigns and prepare for the possible need to increase emergency department and ICU capacity, as well as to consider a number of public health measures to reduce the impact of respiratory pathogens circulating this winter, in latest epidemiological update.
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.
In a series of reports released by ECDC, a concerning rise in sexually transmitted infections (STIs) across Europe has been revealed indicating troubling trends and significant public health implications.