This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 1-7 October 2017 and includes updates on Malaria, West Nile fever and chikungunya.
The 31st IUSTI (International Union Against Sexually Transmitted Infections) Europe Congress addressed the broad range of science and clinical practice in the field of sexually transmitted infections.
This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 30 July – 5 August 2017 and includes updates on hepatitis A, West Nile virus, Vibrio, measles, seasonal influenza, MERS, and Legionnaires' disease.
World Hepatitis Day is marked on 28 July each year to increase the awareness and understanding of viral hepatitis. The five known hepatitis viruses are types A, B, C, D and E
Since June 2016, 16 European countries are experiencing hepatitis A outbreaks with 1 500 reported cases involving three separate clusters that mainly affect men who have sex with men. On the occasion of World Hepatitis Day, ECDC stresses the importance of hepatitis A vaccination and safe sex practices including the use of condoms to avoid new infections. As several EU/EEA countries experience hepatitis A vaccine shortages, targeting of vaccination to groups at higher risk of infection is suggested.
An estimated 4.7 million Europeans are living with chronic hepatitis B and almost 4 million (3.9) with chronic hepatitis C infection. However, large numbers of them are not even aware of their infection as they have not yet been tested and diagnosed.