On this episode we are joined by Otilia Mårdh, Medical Epidemiologist at ECDC, to discuss the latest reports on sexually transmitted infections in Europe.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has published its latest Annual Epidemiological Reports shedding light on the state of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA).
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.
Since late February 2023 and up until 30 March 2023, 87 cases of botulism linked to intragastric injection of the botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) have been reported.
Since late February 2023 and as of 10 March 2023, 67 cases of botulism linked to intragastric injection of the botulism neurotoxin (BoNT) have been reported in Germany (12), Austria (1), Switzerland (1) and Türkiye (53).
On 20 December 2016, ECDC and EFSA published a joint rapid outbreak assessment describing a cluster of six laboratory-confirmed German and Spanish cases of foodborne botulism caused by botulinum neurotoxin type E which occurred during November and December 2016. All of the six patients had consumed dried and salted roach, a fresh and brackish water fish (Rutilus rutilus).
Chlamydia infection, campylobacteriosis, salmonellosis, gonorrhoea and tuberculosis were the most commonly reported notifiable infectious diseases in the EU and EEA in 2014.
They are young and mostly female: with more than 3.2 million cases between 2005 and 2014, chlamydia remains the most commonly reported sexually transmitted infection (STI) across Europe. The updated ECDC guidance on chlamydia control in Europe makes the case for national chlamydia control strategies in the EU Member States and shows ways to develop, implement or improve national or local control activities.
With more than 32 000 cases, gonorrhoea was the second most commonly reported sexually transmitted infection (STI) in Europe in 2010. As data from the ECDC report Gonococcal antimicrobial susceptibility surveillance in Europe 2010 illustrates, gonococci have become more resistant to common agents for treatment and show reduced susceptibility to newer antibiotics. “This indicates the risk that gonorrhoea may become an untreatable disease in the near future”, stresses ECDC Director Marc Sprenger.
The authors describe the epidemiology of invasive Hib and nontype b H. influenzae infections in children <15 years of age in the United Kingdom from 1994 until 2008, and show that the resurgence in Hib disease during the years 1999-2003 did not affect the epidemiology of invasive nontype b H. influenzae disease in children, which provides further support against serotype replacement.