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.
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.
Today, the German authorities published a press release on the current Shiga toxin-producing E.coli outbreak. In their joint statement they recommended in particular to abstain from eating raw sprouts.
Heightened surveillance of acute febrile illness in China since 2009 has led to the identification of a severe fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome (SFTS).
ECDC Director Marc Sprenger at the European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) stressed the importance of the EU’s continuous commitment in the fight against hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
Tick-borne zoonoses (TBZ) are emerging diseases worldwide. A large amount of information (e.g. case reports, results of epidemiological surveillance, etc.) is dispersed through various reference sources (ISI and non-ISI journals, conference proceedings, technical reports, etc.).
Experimental and Applied Acarology 2011 Jan 12; [Epub ahead of print]The distribution of the meadow tick, Dermacentor reticulatus (Fabricius) is divided into two separate areas-Western Europe and Eastern (Russian).
A dynamic population model of Hyalomma marginatum, the vector of several pathogens in the western Palearctic, was developed to simulate effects of temperature and water vapour deficit (VD) on tick survival, development rates and seasonality.
The European network for arthropod vector surveillance for human public health (VBORNET), funded by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, holds its second annual general meeting at the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp, Belgium, on 18-20 April 2011