On 26 July ECDC published the Rapid Risk Assessment COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities in the EU/EEA in the context of current vaccine coverage, following several outbreaks that occurred in these settings during the past six months in several EU/EEA countries, resulting in some cases of severe disease and deaths.
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.
Rapid risk/outbreaks assessment aim at supporting the countries and the European Commission in their preparedness and response to a public health threat. They provide a timely summary and risk assessment of a public health threat for EU/EEA countries related to a specific event. They also include potential options for response. As outbreaks or public health events develop, ECDC may issue updated risk assessments.
Each year on 5 May, the “SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands” campaign takes place as part of a major global effort led by the World Health Organization to mobilise people around the world to increase adherence to hand hygiene in all healthcare settings, thus protecting healthcare workers and patients from healthcare-associated infections caused by various pathogens.
In 2018–2019, data on antimicrobial resistance in zoonotic and indicator bacteria, submitted by 28 EU Member States (MSs), were jointly analysed by the EFSA and the ECDC.