In 2019, the hajj will take place between 9 and 14 August. The risk for EU/EEA citizens to become infected with communicable diseases during the 2019 hajj is considered low, thanks to the vaccination requirements for travelling to Makkah (Mecca) and the Saudi Arabian preparedness plans that address the management of health hazards during and after hajj.
The objective of this report is to systematically review the evidence on active case finding in prison settings, with a focus on the European Union (EU) and the European Economic Area (EEA) region.
The Ministry of Health in Bulgaria invited ECDC to prepare an assessment of the current national HIV programme and to review the STI and Hepatitis surveillance system. Following discussions between ECDC and representatives of the Bulgarian national programme, it was decided to split the assessment into two separate country missions.
This rapid risk assessment reviews the health risks related to communicable diseases in the context of the WorldPride festival in Madrid, from 23 June to 2 July 2017.
On 31 August 2016 the autonomous Community of Madrid, Spain, reported two cases of infection with Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) virus. This document assesses the risk associated with the occurrence of two cases of Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever in Spain.
The recent floods in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, and Serbia caused substantial damage. Following the floods, there is a risk of increased transmission of vector-borne infections to the populations.
On 7 and 10 July, the Hellenic Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (KEELPNO) reported the first two human cases of West Nile virus (WNV) infection in Greece this year. When looking at the epidemiology of WNV infection in Greece since 2010, one can observe a progressive geographical expansion of WNV transmission throughout the country. For this reason, these newly confirmed cases in Athens do not come unexpected.
In May 2011, the European Commission asked ECDC to estimate the change in total exposure risk to hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) during reproductive cell handling and storage for secondary parties, if the current scheme of testing at each cell donation would change to testing partner donors of reproductive cells once or twice a year.