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).
A number of European countries (including Ireland, France, the Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom) indicate an increase seen during 2022, particularly since September 2022, in the number of cases of invasive Group A Streptococcus (iGAS) disease among children less than ten years of age.
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).
Prompted by the increase of hantavirus activity in Europe observed in 2012, ECDC report reviewed the preventive measures and communication strategies in European countries.
On 8 March, the Health Protection Agency in the United Kingdom reported an additional fatal case of anthrax in Suffolk, England. It concerns a person who injected heroin. This brings the number of anthrax cases among injecting drug users in the EU to 14, since June 2012.
The study design and analysis controlled for influence of potentially confounding trends, such as improvement of day-care carriage and decreasing prevalence of smoking during the study period.