Despite good access to effective antibiotics, Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococci) is still a major cause of disease and death in both developing and developed countries. Pneumococci are the main cause of bacterial respiratory tract infections, such as pneumonia, middle ear infection, and sinusitis, in all age groups.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) kindly invite you to join a webinar on West Nile virus and Usutu virus infections among humans and animals, with a focus on the situation in the European Union.
West Nile virus is a mosquito-borne flavivirus that is maintained in an enzootic cycle between mosquitoes and birds. Humans and horses are incidental dead-end hosts.
Yellow fever (YF) is a mosquito-borne infection, distributed in west, central and east Africa and in South America. The disease can cause a wide spectrum of symptoms, from mild to fatal. In severe cases there may be spontaneous haemorrhage. Mortality of these clinical cases can be as high as 80%, on a par with Ebola, Marburg and other haemorrhagic viral infections.
Depending on the level of evidence provided and the methodology used, this advice is typically conveyed through a Guidance, a Systematic review or an Expert opinion.
In a two-day meeting organised by ECDC and UNAIDS, representatives of 22 European countries discussed how to improve the delivery of HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) across Europe. The meeting brought together country delegates, PrEP users and community HIV advocates to seek ways to strengthen the provision and monitoring of PrEP.
The European public health and blood authorities responded to the threat posed by West Nile virus to blood safety of blood and blood components by adopting preventive measures which are defined in the EU blood legislation, professional guides of the Council of Europe and the EU WNV blood transfusion preparedness plan. The measures include the deferral of blood donors that have visited or residing in a NUTS 3 area considered to be affected (i.e. with at least one confirmed case).