Despite good access to effective antibiotics, Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococci) is still a major cause of disease and death in both developing and developed countries. Pneumococci are the main cause of bacterial respiratory tract infections, such as pneumonia, middle ear infection, and sinusitis, in all age groups.
Since April 2023, over 300 shigellosis cases, many with multidrug-resistant Shigella sonnei -infections, have been reported to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
This report provides an analysis of the external quality assessment (EQA) for the antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) performance of laboratories participating in the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net) in 2019. A total of 952 laboratories (1–95 per country) from 30 EU/EEA countries participated in the EQA exercise.
The ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) is a weekly bulletin for epidemiologists and health professionals on active public health threats. This issue covers the period from 21–27 April 2019 and includes updates on influenza A(H7N9), chikungunya and dengue, dengue, Ebola virus disease, influenza, Rift Valley fever and risks of communicable diseases related to Cyclone Idai.