Adjustments to surveillance practices in the EU will enhance preparedness and public health response to emerging infectious diseases, thereby helping to contain human and economic costs. These are the conclusions of an article published this week in Science magazine, describing a study co-authored by ECDC.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have published their annual report on zoonoses and food-borne outbreaks in the European Union for 2010.
Since the 21 June, ECDC has published on its website weekly updates on spatial distribution of West Nile fever cases in the European Union and neighbouring countries.
ECDC publishes weekly West Nile fever maps, based on information provided by the health authorities across Europe, with the objective to inform the national competent authorities about WNV affected areas.
In a joint seminar by Directorate General for Health and Consumer Affairs (DG SANCO), European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and ECDC at the European Parliament, Marc Sprenger highlighted the decrease of Salmonella infections in EU.
The seminar addressed issues such as the human cost of zoonoses, trends in food-borne diseases, challenges and lessons learnt from epidemiological investigations on the 2011 E.coli outbreak and salmonella controls.
ECDC West Nile fever maps are based on information provided by the health authorities across Europe with the objective to inform the national competent authorities about WNV affected areas.
In September 2010, two cases of autochthonous dengue fever were diagnosed in metropolitan France for the first time. The cases occurred in Nice, southeast France, where the vector Aedes albopictus is established.
Aedes aegypti is a highly specialized mosquito species feeding predominantly on humans and breeding in artificial water holding containers in urban areas, and currently restricted to subtropical and tropical areas. Williams et al. focus on the reasons why Ae. aegypti once occurred in locations where the mosquito does not occur anymore in Australia, the more temperate drier parts of the country.