As of 19 December 2013, the local health authorities of the French Caribbean Islands reported 26 confirmed and 12 probable autochthonous cases of chikungunya on the island of Saint Martin.
Antimicrobial resistance represent a serious threat to public health and patient safety and is a worldwide problem. Each year, in the European Union (EU) at least 25 000 patients die of infections with multidrug-resistant bacteria.
ECDC publishes today the results of its first point prevalence survey (PPS) on healthcare-associated infections and antimicrobial use in European hospitals. Based on findings from this survey, ECDC estimates that on any given day, one in 18 patients in European hospitals has at least one healthcare-associated infection. The report also presents data on the most commonly reported infections, which microorganisms are most commonly reported as causing them, how often antimicrobial drugs are being used to treat these infections and data on infection control structure and processes in the hospitals. More than 1 000 hospitals in 30 European countries participated in this first Europe-wide PPS.
WHO “SAVE LIVES: Clean Your Hands” is an annual campaign that makes part of major global effort to support healthcare workers to improve hand hygiene practices in hospitals and other healthcare facilities, and thus support the prevention of healthcare-associated infections.
Following an invitation from Greek authorities, ECDC Director Marc Sprenger and experts from the ECDC Programmes for Sexually Transmitted Infections including HIV and blood-borne infections and Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare-associated Infections will visit Greece on 29 and 30 November 2012.
The sixth European Scientific Conference on Applied Infectious Disease Epidemiology (ESCAIDE) opened today at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre (EICC).
Findings in this study confirmed the herd immunity effect of immunizing young children, since invasive meningococcal disease was not only reduced among vaccinees, but in all age groups.
ECDC publishes today a report surveying the prevalence of Tick Borne Encephalitis (TBE) in Europe. The report has epidemiological data from 2000 to 2010 for 20 out of 30 EU/EFTA countries. The data shows that a number of key risk areas can be found in Europe in terms of geographic spread, seasonal peaks and at-risk age groups. Most countries in Europe have surveillance systems although some vary which greatly impedes comparability and analysis of TBE.
On 5 September 2012 the European Commission decision amending Decision 2000/96/EC as regards tick-borne encephalitis was published. As a result tick-borne encephalitis is added to the list of diseases to be covered by epidemiological surveillance within the Community.
Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) or carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae (CPE) are highly resistant to antibiotics, leaving only a few options for treatment of infected patients, and thus represent a serious threat to public health.