Genetic and antigenic characterization data generated at the Worldwide Influenza Centre for viruses with collection dates after 31 January 2023 until 31 August 2023 informed the WHO influenza vaccine composition meeting (VCM) in September 2023 when recommendations were made for the southern hemisphere (SH) 2024 influenza season.
This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 12 - 18 November 2023 and includes updates on SARS-CoV-2 variant classification, West Nile virus, multistate outbreak of salmonella, and an overview of respiratory virus epidemiology in the EU/EEA.
This document is an update of the joint guidance that was published in 2011 by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA).
This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 29 October - 4 November 2023 and includes updates on West Nile virus, the mass gatherings at the Rugby World Cup 2023 and the detection of Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus in ticks in southern France.
The Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS), led by WHO, is used for the international virological and epidemiological surveillance of human influenza.
Seasonal influenza is a vaccine-preventable disease and annual influenza vaccination is the most effective way to prevent influenza. ECDC continues to emphasise that all Europeans who are recommended to have the influenza vaccine should get vaccinated.
The clinical surveillance of influenza in the European Influenza Surveillance Network (EISN) is generally based on reports made by sentinel general practitioners. Some of the sentinel surveillance systems also include paediatricians and physicians with other specialisations. The physicians usually represent 1-5% of physicians working in the country or region.
In 2021, 1 567 cases of mumps were reported to ECDC by 27 European Union/European Economic Area(EU/EEA) Member States, with an overall notification rate of 0.4 cases per 100 000 population. This wassignificantly lower than the notification rates reported during the previous four years (range 1.7-4.2).