In 2019, World Youth Day (WYD) will take place between 22 and 27 January 2019 in Panama City, Panama with an expected half a million participants. During mass gathering events, the most common health risks are related to vaccine-preventable diseases, gastrointestinal illnesses and vector-borne diseases in favourable climate conditions.

During the 2018 transmission season, 1503 human cases and 285 outbreaks among equids were reported in the European Union.

Since the joint ECDC-EFSA rapid outbreak assessment ’Multi-country outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis infections linked to Polish eggs’ published on 12 December 2017, 15 EU/EEA countries (Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Slovenia, Sweden and United Kingdom) have reported 336 confirmed, 94 probable and 3 new historical-confirmed cases associated with this ongoing multi-country outbreak of Salmonella Enteritidis in the EU/EEA. In the same period, seven historical probable cases were reclassified as excluded.

Since May 2018 and as of 10 November 2018, there have been 329 Ebola virus disease cases (294 confirmed, 35 probable), including 205 deaths (170 of which were confirmed cases).

Since May 2018 and as of 24 October 2018, there have been 251 Ebola virus disease cases (216 confirmed, 35 probable), including 162 deaths (127 of which were confirmed cases).

Since the last epidemiological update on 31 August 2018, European countries have reported 530 new West Nile virus (WNV) cases and 52 deaths. The number of WNV infections reported so far exceeds the total number of infections in the previous five years.

As of 7 September 2018, the number of outbreak-confirmed cases reported in 22 EU/EEA countries since 1 June 2016 is 4 475.

Since 11 May and as of 8 September 2018, 131 Ebola cases were reported in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), of which 100 are confirmed and 31 probable. Among the 131 cases, 90 had a fatal outcome. Eight health zones in two provinces have reported confirmed and probable EVD cases, including Mabalako, Beni, Butembo, Oicha, Masereka, Kalungata and Musienene health zones in North Kivu Province and Mandima Health Zone in Ituri Province.

In 2018, Norway [1] and the Netherlands [2] published reports from national public health institutes on increased Echovirus 30 (E30) detections associated with an increase in the number of meningitis or meningoencephalitis cases. Since the beginning of 2018, 407 E30 cases have been reported to ECDC in 10 EU/EEA countries based on an Epidemic Intelligence Information System–Vaccine Preventable Diseases (EPIS-VPD) data call.

In 2018, as of 30 August 2018, 975 confirmed and probable autochthonous human WNV infections were reported by European countries: 710 in EU/EEA Member States and 265 in EU neighbouring countries. Italy reported 327 cases, Serbia 213, Greece 147, Romania 117, Hungary 96, Israel 49, France 11, Austria 8, Croatia 3, Kosovo 3 and Slovenia 1.