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From surveillance and detection of SARS-CoV-2 to vaccine effectiveness against COVID-19
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Eurosurveillance
Since 1995, Eurosurveillance has provided the European public health community with an open-access platform to exchange relevant findings on communicable disease surveillance, prevention and control. A weekly, electronic, peer-reviewed publication, Eurosurveillance aims to provide timely facts and guidance for public health professionals and decision-makers in the field of infectious disease to facilitate the implementation of effective prevention and control measures. Impact factor: 19. More...
Latest Issue: Volume 29, Issue 17, 25 April 2024 Latest Issue RSS feed
- Rapid communication
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Contact tracing management of a measles case in a paediatric hospital: experience of the local public health unit, Portugal, January 2024
In January 2024, a child was diagnosed with measles in a paediatric hospital in Lisbon. Of 123 contacts, 39 (32%) were not fully immunised, presenting a risk for a potential outbreak. The public health unit initiated control measures and identified challenges during the response, such as the lack of interoperability between information systems and accessing vaccination records. The lessons learned prompted changes to national contact tracing procedures for measles, further strengthening Portugal’s preparedness.
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Severe A(H1N1)pdm09 influenza acute encephalopathy outbreak in children in Tuscany, Italy, December 2023 to January 2024
A severe outbreak of influenza A(H1N1pdm09) infection in seven children (median age: 52 months) occurred between December 2023 and January 2024 in Tuscany, Italy. Clinical presentation ranged from milder encephalopathy to acute necrotizing encephalopathy (ANE) with coma and multiorgan failure; one child died. This report raises awareness for clinicians to identify and treat early acute encephalopathy caused by H1N1 influenza and serves as a reminder of severe presentations of influenza in young children and the importance of vaccination.
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Availability of drugs for the treatment of multidrug-resistant/rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis in the World Health Organization European Region, October 2023
The BPaLM regimen (bedaquiline, pretomanid, linezolid and moxifloxacin) recently recommended by the World Health Organization offers short, safe, and effective treatment for multidrug-resistant/rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis (TB). In a survey with national TB focal points in 18 central and western European countries to explore barriers for the implementation of BPaLM, only three reported full availability of pretomanid, a necessary component of this regimen. Implementation barriers included financing and procurement. Solutions on national and supranational level are needed to guarantee universal access.
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- Outbreaks
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Outbreak of invasive Group A streptococcus disease in a nursing home in Ireland in February 2023 caused by emm type 18
An out-of-season increase in cases of invasive Group A streptococcus (iGAS) was observed in Ireland between October 2022 and August 2023. We describe the management of an iGAS outbreak involving three nursing home residents in Ireland in early 2023. A regional Department of Public Health was notified of an iGAS case in a nursing home resident in January 2023. When two further cases among residents were notified 7 days later, an outbreak was declared. Surveillance for GAS/iGAS infection in residents and staff was undertaken. The site was visited to provide infection prevention and control (IPC) support. Isolates were emm typed. A total of 38 residents and 29 staff in contact with resident cases were provided with antibiotic chemoprophylaxis. Seven additional staff with no direct resident contact also received chemoprophylaxis after finding one probable localised GAS infection among them. No more iGAS cases subsequently occurred.Site visit recommendations included advice on terminal cleaning and cleaning of shared equipment, as well as strengthening staff education on hand hygiene and masking. All isolates were of emm subtype 18.12, a subtype not previously detected in Ireland. Key outbreak control measures were rapid delivery of IPC support and chemoprophylaxis. Emm18 is infrequently associated with GAS infections.
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- Research
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Scenarios of future mpox outbreaks among men who have sex with men: a modelling study based on cross-sectional seroprevalence data from the Netherlands, 2022
BackgroundFollowing the 2022–2023 mpox outbreak, crucial knowledge gaps exist regarding orthopoxvirus-specific immunity in risk groups and its impact on future outbreaks.
AimWe combined cross-sectional seroprevalence studies in two cities in the Netherlands with mathematical modelling to evaluate scenarios of future mpox outbreaks among men who have sex with men (MSM).
MethodsSerum samples were obtained from 1,065 MSM attending Centres for Sexual Health (CSH) in Rotterdam or Amsterdam following the peak of the Dutch mpox outbreak and the introduction of vaccination. For MSM visiting the Rotterdam CSH, sera were linked to epidemiological and vaccination data. An in-house developed ELISA was used to detect vaccinia virus (VACV)-specific IgG. These observations were combined with published data on serial interval and vaccine effectiveness to inform a stochastic transmission model that estimates the risk of future mpox outbreaks.
ResultsThe seroprevalence of VACV-specific antibodies was 45.4% and 47.1% in Rotterdam and Amsterdam, respectively. Transmission modelling showed that the impact of risk group vaccination on the original outbreak was likely small. However, assuming different scenarios, the number of mpox cases in a future outbreak would be markedly reduced because of vaccination. Simultaneously, the current level of immunity alone may not prevent future outbreaks. Maintaining a short time-to-diagnosis is a key component of any strategy to prevent new outbreaks.
ConclusionOur findings indicate a reduced likelihood of large future mpox outbreaks among MSM in the Netherlands under current conditions, but emphasise the importance of maintaining population immunity, diagnostic capacities and disease awareness.
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- Author's correction
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Recent articles
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Multiple introductions of monkeypox virus to Ireland during the international mpox outbreak, May 2022 to October 2023
Gabriel Gonzalez , Michael Carr , Tomás M Kelleher , Emer O’Byrne , Weronika Banka , Brian Keogan , Charlene Bennett , Geraldine Franzoni , Patrice Keane , Cliona Kenna , Luke W Meredith , Nicola Fletcher , Jose Maria Urtasun-Elizari , Jonathan Dean , Ciaran Browne , Fiona Lyons , Brendan Crowley , Derval Igoe , Eve Robinson , Greg Martin , Jeff Connell , Cillian F De Gascun and Daniel Hare
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Excess mortality in Europe coincides with peaks of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), November 2023 to February 2024
Sarah K Nørgaard , Jens Nielsen , Anne Christine Nordholm , Lukas Richter , Alena Chalupka , Natalia Bustos Sierra , Toon Braeye , Maria Athanasiadou , Theodore Lytras , Gleb Denissov , Oskari Luomala , Anne Fouillet , Isabelle Pontais , Matthias an der Heiden , Benedikt Zacher , Alina Weigel , Ivo Foppa , Kassiani Gkolfinopoulou , Ioannis Panagoulias , Anna Paldy , Tibor Malnasi , Lisa Domegan , Eva Kelly , Naama Rotem , Oksana Rakhlin , Francesca K de'Donato , Chiara Di Blasi , Patrick Hoffmann , Telma Velez , Kathleen England , Neville Calleja , Liselotte van Asten , Femke Jongenotter , Ana Paula Rodrigues , Susana Silva , Petra Klepac , Diana Gomez-Barroso , Inmaculada Leon Gomez , Ilias Galanis , Ahmed Farah , Rolf Weitkunat , Katarina Fehst , Nick Andrews , Tom Clare , Declan T Bradley , Mark G O'Doherty , Naoma William , Mark Hamilton , Bolette Søborg , Tyra G Krause , Nick Bundle and Lasse S Vestergaard
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