In 2019, the hajj will take place between 9 and 14 August. The risk for EU/EEA citizens to become infected with communicable diseases during the 2019 hajj is considered low, thanks to the vaccination requirements for travelling to Makkah (Mecca) and the Saudi Arabian preparedness plans that address the management of health hazards during and after hajj.
Since April 2016, Denmark, France, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and United Kingdom (Wales) have reported severe enterovirus infections associated with a variety of different strains. This rapid risk assessment considers the risk for EU/EEA countries related to severe enterovirus infections.
ECDC has published a rapid risk assessment due to a localised outbreak of neurological symptoms associated with enterovirus A71 (EV-A71) in Catalonia, Spain.
Most EV infections, including EV-A71, result in asymptomatic infection. Most symptomatic EV-A71 infections manifest as a self-limiting hand, foot and mouth disease and only a very small proportion of patients develop severe and life-threatening disease. The current outbreak is notable in terms of its magnitude and the severity of symptoms of the reported cases.
On 9 October 2015, the United Kingdom notified the appearance of an unusual late complication, more than eight months after initial recovery, in an Ebola survivor who was infected while working as a healthcare worker in West Africa.
This risk assessment was triggered by two cases of paralytic poliomyelitis in children, caused by circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 1 (cVDPV1) in Ukraine during June and July 2015.
This is the 12th update of the rapid risk assessment on the outbreak of Ebola virus disease in West Africa. It provides the latest figures on cases for the week 14-21 June 2015, re-assesses the risk of importation of Ebola virus disease into the EU and discusses options for risk reduction.
As of 5 April 2015, WHO has reported 25 550 cases of Ebola virus disease in West Africa, including 10 587 deaths. The latest WHO report indicates that the number of new cases continues to decrease.
In the second half of January 2015, WHO reported a significant drop in weekly cases – and the end of the spread of the disease – in all three currently affected countries (Guinea, Liberia, Sierra Leone).
In November, France and the United Kingdom both reported sporadic cases of neurological disease involving enterovirus 68 (EV-D68) detection. As a result, ECDC has updated its rapid risk assessment on EV-D68, first triggered by reports from North America. To date, European acute flaccid paralysis (AFP)/enhanced enterovirus surveillance has not detected unusual clusters or unexpected trends.