Since its introduction in the 1990s, the main aim of combination antiretroviral therapy (ART) for HIV has been to halt the progression of the infection, maintaining the health of the HIV-positive person taking treatment. In addition to this, the impact of treatment as prevention has been well described.
People in prison experience a higher burden of communicable diseases such as hepatitis B (HBV), hepatitis C (HCV) and HIV often linked to a history of injecting drug use.
In their joint public health Guidance published today, ECDC and the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA), present the evidence on active case finding as a key measure to diagnose communicable diseases early.
Since the beginning of 2018 and as of 14 May, 2 980 autochthonous cases of dengue have been reported in Réunion. The main areas affected are in the western part of the island. The most prevalent serotype among dengue cases is DENV-2 and the main vector implicated in the outbreak is Aedes albopictus.
Can whole genome sequencing illustrate changes in drug susceptibility of gonorrhoea to antimicrobials used for treatment and so help to define more effective treatment regimens?
Within a matter of weeks, three cases of gonorrhoea that are resistant to the recommended first line antibiotic treatment have been detected in Europe and Australia. These are the first global reports of Neisseria gonorrhoeae with high-level resistance to azithromycin and ceftriaxone resistance that also show resistance to several other vital antibiotics. At a time with limited alternatives to the current dual therapy, lack of a vaccine and insufficient surveillance capacity in some regions, these cases highlight the growing threat of drug-resistance – which could lead to untreatable gonorrhoea.
ECDC issues new risk assessment in light of the yellow fever resurgence in Brazil (in particular in São Paulo) and the expected increasing flow of travellers during the upcoming Carnival.
One in 2 people living with HIV are diagnosed late in the course of their infection. So late, that two out of three people with AIDS in the EU/EEA receive their diagnosis within only three months of discovering they had HIV. For World AIDS Day 2017, ECDC highlighted the problem of late diagnosis and the need for diversifying HIV testing approaches.
From July to October 2017 the Brazilian authorities reported three confirmed human cases of yellow fever - one in Rio de Janeiro and two in São Paulo State. One person died. In addition, several animal cases were detected in the urban area of São Paulo City. The national health authorities have started a vaccination campaign in São Paulo State.
The WHO European Region is the only Region worldwide where the number of new HIV infections is rising. With more than 160 000 people newly diagnosed with HIV across the Region, including more than 29 000 new cases from the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA), this trend continued in 2016.