This report presents the results of the ECDC European Reference Laboratory Network for Pertussis (ERLNPert-Net) external quality assessment (EQA) scheme for Bordetella pertussis PCR, funded by ECDC on behalf of ERLNPert-Net and conducted from April to September 2020. The EQA was organised by the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), based in Potter’s Bar, United Kingdom (UK).
For 2019, 30 EU/EEA Member States reported 29 996 cases of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection. Excluding the five countries that only reported acute cases, the number of cases, 29 518, corresponds to a crude rate of 7.4 cases per 100 000 population.
This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 18-24 July 2021 and includes updates on Escherichia coli ST38, COVID-19, Vibrio growth in the Baltic Sea the Olympic Games in Tokyo 2020 (2021), West Nile virus, avian influenza and cholera.