ECDC Director Marc Sprenger at the European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) stressed the importance of the EU’s continuous commitment in the fight against hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
In September 2010, two cases of autochthonous dengue fever were diagnosed in metropolitan France for the first time. The cases occurred in Nice, southeast France, where the vector Aedes albopictus is established.
Aedes aegypti is a highly specialized mosquito species feeding predominantly on humans and breeding in artificial water holding containers in urban areas, and currently restricted to subtropical and tropical areas. Williams et al. focus on the reasons why Ae. aegypti once occurred in locations where the mosquito does not occur anymore in Australia, the more temperate drier parts of the country.
ECDC was pleased that the Government of Romania extended an invite to meet health care workers who are working with the Roma population. ECDC Director, Marc Sprenger, as head of the delegation shares three lesson.
During a recent country visit to Romania, ECDC emphasised the key issues for TB control. Following the invitation of the Romania Ministry of Health, ECDC disease experts, led by ECDC Director Marc Sprenger, visited the Marius Nasta Institute, which historically has been in the front line for TB control in the country.
IGRAs are increasingly being considered for the diagnosis of LTBI, as a replacement to the TST, including travel medicine. As with the TST, many uncertainties remain with regard to the efficacy of the IGRAs. It is therefore essential to secure an accurate understanding of these assays‘ known efficacy, so that they be optimally used and only in context with proven effect.
The overall objective is to improve early detection and response to outbreak of zoonotic diseases at the EU level through strengthened collaboration with the animal health sector and other agencies and organizations working at the animal-human interface.
The first annual meeting of the European hepatitis B and C surveillance network takes place on 23-24 March 2011. Since 2009, ECDC has worked on preparing the enhanced surveillance of hepatitis B and C at EU/EEA level by establishing a network for hepatitis B and C surveillance and by carrying out a survey on prevention and surveillance activities in the Member States.
ECDC and EFSA have just launched the annual report on zoonoses and food-borne outbreaks in the European Union for 2009. The report shows that Salmonella cases in humans fell by 17% in 2009, marking a decrease for the fifth consecutive year