This estimate on the “PrEP gap” in Europe was published in a paper in Eurosurveillance stating that 500 000 men who have sex with men in the European Union currently cannot access HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), despite being very likely to use it.
Targeted testing is an essential element of any strategy to eliminate viral hepatitis across the countries in the European Union and European Economic Area. Some preliminary monitoring results on the response to hepatitis B and C presented around World Hepatitis Day show that diagnosing chronic infections is still a challenge in the EU/EEA.
The number of syphilis cases has been consistently going up across Europe since 2010, mostly affecting men who have sex with men living in urban areas. In 2017, notification rates reached an all-time high in the EU/EEA countries with more than 33 000 reported cases. An in-depth ECDC study published today describes the factors behind this increase and outlines the evidence-based options for public health control of syphilis, including case finding and management as well as educational activities.
In 2017, the majority (58%) of the almost 27 000 newly reported hepatitis B cases in the European Union and European Economic Area were classified as chronic infections. This follows a consistent upward trend in reported chronic hepatitis B cases since 2008.
In order to maximise the benefits of treatment for HIV or viral hepatitis, it is critical to test and diagnose people as soon as possible in the course of the infection. ECDC supports this objective of European Testing Week.
Following a decline in notification rates in 2016, the number of gonorrhoea cases has gone up by 17% across the reporting EU/EEA countries with more than 89 000 confirmed diagnoses in 2017 – more than 240 cases a day.
ECDC comment on the study 'Detection in the United Kingdom of the Neisseria gonorrhoeae FC428 clone, with ceftriaxone resistance and intermediate resistance to azithromycin, October to December 2018' by Eyre et al. in the Eurosurveillance edition of 7 March 2019.
World Tuberculosis Day, marked each year on 24 March, is an occasion to raise awareness and advocate for efforts to eliminate TB. It is high time to end TB.