The ECDC communicable disease threats report is a weekly bulletin intended for epidemiologists and health professionals in the area of communicable disease prevention and control.
This letter to the editor raises the issue of the adaptation of B. pertussis to vaccine selection pressure as one of the reasons for the increase number of cases of whooping cough reported in several countries.
ECDC is addressing the harmonisation and improvement of pertussis diagnosis for surveillance and outbreak detection/monitoring in order to assure quality and comparability of data. The guidance and protocol are intended for real-time PCR on DNA extracted from clinical specimens obtained from patients with suspected whooping cough (i.e. Bordetella pertussis or B. parapertussis).
Since 2011, there have been increases in the number of cases of pertussis that have been reported in different regions of the world. Laboratory diagnosis of whooping cough is difficult due to variations in specificity and the sensitivity of different methods. This report reviews the scientific literature updates together with research to produce a guidance and protocol for the serological diagnosis of human infection with Bordetella pertussis.
ECDC is publishing the first external quality assurance scheme (EQA) for Bordetalla pertusis PCR, participated by 21-one laboratories from 21 European Union/European Economic Area countries.
This surveillance report was prepared by EUVAC.net, which is a European surveillance network for vaccine-preventable diseases. The network collects data on surveillance systems and selected epidemiological characteristics of vaccine preventable diseases in the EU and other participating countries. It is jointly funded by ECDC and the Statens Serum Institut (Denmark).
This surveillance report was prepared by EUVAC.net, which is a European surveillance network for vaccine-preventable diseases. The network collects data on surveillance systems and selected epidemiological characteristics of vaccine preventable diseases in the EU and other participating countries. It is jointly funded by ECDC and the Statens Serum Institut (Denmark).