Malaria is caused by Plasmodium parasites. During the 20th century, malaria was eradicated from many temperate areas, including the whole of the EU, and is now limited to tropical countries. Due to the large number of imported cases in Europe, malaria is mainly a travel medicine issue.
Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) is an obligate human pathogen and an important cause of invasive bacterial infections in both children and adults, with the highest incidence among young children.
Rotavirus infection is an acute infectious disease mainly affecting children. The main symptoms are fever, vomiting and diarrhoea and many affected children suffer from extensive fluid loss in need of medical attention. The incubation period is 1-2 days.
Congenital rubella is the infection of a foetus with rubella virus following the infection of the mother during pregnancy. ‘Congenital’ indicates that the foetus also becomes infected during pregnancy.
Varicella (chickenpox) is caused by the varicella-zoster virus (VZV), which also causes shingles. The virus spreads through the body into the skin causing rashes to appear.
Avian influenza is an infectious viral disease mainly found in birds, but under certain circumstances infections can also occur in humans even though the risk is generally very low.
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum. It may also be transmitted mother-to-child (congenital syphilis).