Every year, around 50 000 newly diagnosed cases of hepatitis B and C are reported across Europe but millions are unaware of their infection. Left untreated, hepatitis can cause irreversible liver damage. Hepatitis A is recognised as a re-emerging health threat in Europe.
The EFSA-ECDC report, ‘European Union Summary Report on Trends and Sources of Zoonoses, Zoonotic Agents and Food-borne Outbreaks in 2013’, released today covers 16 zoonoses and foodborne outbreaks.
French authorities reported a cluster of four autochthonous cases of chikungunya infection in Languedoc-Roussillon region, south of France. This is the first report of autochthonous chikungunya virus transmission in France this year.
As of 15 October, 59 chikungunya cases have been reported in the commune of Teva i Uta, Tahiti, French Polynesia [1]. No fatalities had been associated with this event.
ECDC gathered guidance documents on prevention and control of infection with carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) available online, published by EU/EEA Member States, ECDC, other agencies and scientific societies.
On 6 December 2013, France reported two laboratory-confirmed autochthonous cases of chikungunya in the French part of the Caribbean island of Saint Martin. It is the first time that autochthonous transmission of the virus has been documented in the Americas.