As of 5 July, EU Member States and neighbouring countries have not reported any human cases of West Nile fever for the 2012 transmission season, states this week’s update of West Nile fever maps.
The general objective of the expert consultation was to draft a proposal for case definition and case classification of dengue and chikungunya fever suitable for surveillance in continental Europe.
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.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have published the second joint EU report on antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic bacteria affecting humans, animals and food.
The seminar addressed issues such as the human cost of zoonoses, trends in food-borne diseases, challenges and lessons learnt from epidemiological investigations on the 2011 E.coli outbreak and salmonella controls.
The Shiga toxin-producing E. coli outbreak in Germany during 2011 showed the value of a solid microbiology network and the need to increase the speed of notification of cases of infectious diseases in Europe.
ECDC West Nile fever maps are based on information provided by the health authorities across Europe with the objective to inform the national competent authorities about WNV affected areas.
In the context of the ongoing outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) that affects by now citizens from 13 EU member states, it is crucial not only to align the efforts regarding investigation and control of the outbreak but also to share knowledge among practitioners across Europe on the patho-physiological and clinical characteristics of infection caused by this unusual epidemic strain, and review patient management options.