This report is based on data for 2018-2020 retrieved on 13 February 2023 from The European Surveillance System (TESSy) and ECDC’s decentralised data storage for antimicrobial resistance and healthcare-associated infections (ARHAI). TESSy is a system for the collection, analysis and dissemination of data on communicable diseases.
This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 23-29 April 2023 and includes updates on cholera, avian influenza, COVID-19, invasive meningococcal disease, influenza, Marburg virus disease, and the seizure of a reference laboratory by an armed group.
Immediate health needs following earthquakes in Türkiye and Syria are mostly related to trauma and the disruption of healthcare, however, infectious disease threats may be concerning in the following two to four weeks.
In 2016–2017, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) organised the third point prevalence survey (PPS) of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) and antimicrobial use in European long-term care facilities (LTCFs) or HALT-3.
For 2020, 28 countries reported 1 647 cases of hantavirus infection (0.4 cases per 100 000 population), mainly caused by Puumala virus (98%). During the period 2016–2020, the overall notification rate fluctuated between 0.4 and 1.0 cases per 100 00 population, with no obvious long-term trend.
In 2021, 2 268 confirmed cases of listeriosis were reported by 30 EU/EEA Member States. The EU/EEA notification rate was 0.51 per 100 000 population. Germany, France, and Italy had the highest numbers of reported cases (560, 435 and 241, respectively), corresponding to 54.5% of all cases reported in the EU/EEA. The highest incidence rates were observed in Iceland, Finland, and Denmark. Figure 1 illustrates the country-specific age-standardised rates per 100 000 population.
For 2021, 6 534 confirmed cases of STEC infection were reported by 30 EU/EEA countries (Table 1). Twenty-seven countries reported at least two confirmed cases, and three countries reported no cases. The EU/EEA notification rate was 2.2 cases per 100 000 population, representing a 37.5% increase compared with the previous year.