On 11 August 2017, France gave notification of an autochthonous case of chikungunya virus infection detected in the Var Department in southern France through the Early Warning and Alert System (EWRS).
An estimated 4.7 million Europeans are living with chronic hepatitis B and almost 4 million (3.9) with chronic hepatitis C infection. However, large numbers of them are not even aware of their infection as they have not yet been tested and diagnosed.
Hepatitis and other drug-related infectious diseases will be the focus of ‘Hepatitis week’, taking place at the EU drugs agency (EMCDDA) in Lisbon from 12–16 June 2017. The initiative will bring together some 100 specialists from: EU Member States, candidate and potential candidate countries to the EU, as well as partner agencies, civil society and professional organisations.
There has been a statistically significant increasing trend of listeriosis between 2008 and 2015, with the proportion of cases in the over 64 age group steadily increasing from 56.2% in 2008 to 64.1% in 2015.
Human cases of listeriosis and camylobacteriosis rose once again in 2014, continuing an upward trend that began in 2008. Salmonellosis cases increased slightly for the first time since 2008.
This first European Action Plan provides an important driver to aid countries in their fight against viral hepatitis, to which ECDC had the opportunity to contribute directly.
The goal for 2030: a world free of hepatitis. Currently, Europe records around 57 000 newly diagnosed acute and chronic cases of hepatitis B and C each year.
On 11 September, authorities in Valencia,Spain acknowledged that the case of Chikungunya reported 3 August 2015 is a false positive. Laboratory investigation conducted by the National Reference laboratory in Madrid did not confirm the initial results.