This report of the EFSA and ECDC presents the results of zoonoses monitoring activities carried out in 2019 in 36 European countries (28 Member States (MS) and eight non-MS).
For 2019, two imported cases of Lassa fever were reported in the Netherlands. No further cases of Lassa fever or other viral haemorrhagic fevers caused by arenaviruses were reported in the EU/EEA in 2019.
For 2019, EU/EEA countries reported five human Lyssavirus infections. Four human cases of travel-related rabies were reported by Italy, Latvia, Spain and Norway with exposure in Tanzania, India, Morocco and the Philippines, respectively. One locally-acquired fatal case of European bat lyssavirus (EBLV-1) infection was reported by France.
Rabies is a deadly disease and endemic in over 100 countries. It causes around 59,000 human deaths annually, the vast majority in Asia and Africa. There are safe and effective human vaccines for pre- and post-exposure prophylaxis. With a prompt and proper post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP), exposed people have a survival rate close to 100%.