It is the first time that autochthonous transmission of the virus has been documented in the Americas. Clinicians and travel medicine clinics should remain vigilant regarding imported dengue and chikungunya cases from the Caribbean.
As of 19 December 2013, the local health authorities of the French Caribbean Islands reported 26 confirmed and 12 probable autochthonous cases of chikungunya on the island of Saint Martin.
On 13 November, WHO reported 4 additional cases of cholera in Mexico. Since the beginning of the outbreak in September 2013, Mexico has reported 180 confirmed cases of cholera caused by Vibrio cholerae O:1 Ogawa, including one death.
In response to the correspondence published in The Lancet, “Polio emergence in Syria and Israel endangers Europe”, ECDC replied clarifying the Centre’s recommendations to Member States.
Ten of the 22 acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases in the Syrian Arab Republic suspected of being caused by wild poliovirus have been confirmed as wild poliovirus type 1 (WPV1) by the World Health Organization (WHO).
On 1 October, 46 confirmed cases of cholera, including one death, were reported by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) in Mexico. Of those, two were identified in the Federal District and 44 in the state of Hidalgo.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and the European Food Safety Authority launched their annual report on zoonoses and food-borne outbreaks.
ECDC has issued a risk assessment on cholera transmission related to travel to the Dominican Republic after two cases have been detected in tourists returning to the UK and Germany from resorts in the Punta Cana area of the Dominican Republic.