ECDC has previously summarised information concerning the appearance of narcolepsy following the use of a specific pandemic vaccine (Pandemrix®) in children and adolescents in three European Countries.
The objective of WHO’s Global Influenza Vaccine Action Plan (which began in 2006) is to increase the use and supply of influenza vaccines on a routine basis.
This review summarises the clinical features, diagnosis and treatment of gnathostomiasis and highlights the rare but important different neurological syndromes that can occur as a consequence of migration of the worm within the CNS.
In recent years a controversial topic has been whether or not antivirals, specifically the neuraminidase inhibitors, oseltamivir and zanamivir, reduce the likelihood of severe complications of seasonal or pandemic influenza if given soon after infection with influenza viruses.
On Friday 24 June, France reported a cluster of eight patients with bloody diarrhoea, after having participated in an event in the commune of Bègles around Bordeaux on 8 June. Of these, seven have developed HUS, a severe complication of E. coli infection. In three of the patients, infection with E. coli O104:H4 has been confirmed.
On June 14, Eurosurveillance published new information on the characteristics of the German outbreak strain of E.coli and how these microbiological findings have been shared in real time by public health microbiology experts to disseminate best laboratory practice for case detection and public health investigations across Europe and beyond.
The authors of this study from 12 European Union member states used statistical modelling and a novel European approach for combining data to explore the potential causes that might explain difference in transmission dynamics observed during the early stages of the 2009 influenza A(H1N1) pandemic.
In the context of the ongoing outbreak of Shiga toxin-producing E. coli (STEC) that affects by now citizens from 13 EU member states, it is crucial not only to align the efforts regarding investigation and control of the outbreak but also to share knowledge among practitioners across Europe on the patho-physiological and clinical characteristics of infection caused by this unusual epidemic strain, and review patient management options.
In his speech before the EU Health Ministers recently, ECDC Director Marc Sprenger outlined several public health measures to meet the measles elimination target by 2015 in Luxembourg.