Hantavirus infections are widely distributed across Europe, with the exception of some Mediterranean countries which reported a very low number of cases.
Escherichia coli resistance to major antibiotics is increasing in almost all countries in Europe. E. coli causes urinary tract and more serious infections and is one of the most common bacteria causing infections.
Childhood immunisation against S. pneumoniae is the most effective public health measure for preventing IPD both among vaccine recipients (direct effect), and among unimmunised populations (indirect ‘herd’ effect).
ECDC promotes the performance of external quality assessment (EQA) schemes, in which laboratories are sent simulated clinical specimens or bacterial isolates for testing by routine or reference laboratory methods. EQA schemes, or laboratory proficiency testing, provide information about the accuracy of different characterisation and typing methods as well as antimicrobial susceptibility testing (AST) and the sensitivity of the methods in place to detect a certain pathogen or novel resistance patterns.
EU case definition for diarrhoea and haemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) caused by the epidemic strain Shiga toxin 2-producing Escherichia Coli (STEC) O104:H4