This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 19-25 March 2023 and includes updates on Marburg virus disease, iatrogenic botulism, COVID-19, Influenza, Group A streptococcal infection, cholera, poliomyelitis, measles, and extensively drug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
Immediate health needs following earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria are mostly related to trauma and the disruption of healthcare, however, infectious disease threats may be concerning in the following two to four weeks.
In 2021, 14 560 cases of hepatitis C were reported in 29 EU/EEA Member States. Excluding countries that only reported acute cases the number of cases (14 550 cases) corresponds to a crude rate of 4.1 cases per 100 000 population.
In 2016–2017, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) organised the third point prevalence survey (PPS) of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial use in European long-term care facilities (LTCFs) or HALT-3.
For 2021, 6 534 confirmed cases of STEC infection were reported by 30 EU/EEA countries (Table 1). Twenty-seven countries reported at least two confirmed cases, and three countries reported no cases. The EU/EEA notification rate was 2.2 cases per 100 000 population, representing a 37.5% increase compared with the previous year.
Hepatitis A cases in 2021 were at their lowest levels since EU-level hepatitis A surveillance began in 2007, while five other food and waterborne diseases are rising towards pre-pandemic levels. The information is revealed in the Annual Epidemiological Report 2021, of which six chapters are published today by ECDC.