As of 4 November 1 148 cases of dengue infection have been reported, of which 517 were laboratory confirmed. The case definition has been revised and an automated surveillance system has been set up with the support from ECDC. The changes that were put in place meant that additional cases were identified retrospectively.
On 24 October 2012 the Portuguese Ministry of Public Health (Direcção-Geral da Saúde) confirmed 52 cases of dengue fever and 404 probable cases, compared to 37 confirmed and 262 probable cases in their last update of 17 October.
On 3 October, the Public Health Authority of Portugal (Direção-Geral da Saúde) reported two cases of dengue infection in patients residing in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, Portugal.
On 3 August 2012, a probable case of dengue infection was reported in a resident in west Greece (Agrinio). The 84 year old patient, who had severe underlying conditions and septicaemia, died on 30 August 2012.
Universal screening of pregnant women is feasible and has led to immunisation in nearly all identified cases in Denmark. As a consequence of the study the National Board of Health has made universal HBsAg screening of pregnant women permanent in the country.
ECDC Director Marc Sprenger at the European Parliament Committee on the Environment, Public Health and Food Safety (ENVI) stressed the importance of the EU’s continuous commitment in the fight against hepatitis B and hepatitis C.
In September 2010, two cases of autochthonous dengue fever were diagnosed in metropolitan France for the first time. The cases occurred in Nice, southeast France, where the vector Aedes albopictus is established.
Aedes aegypti is a highly specialized mosquito species feeding predominantly on humans and breeding in artificial water holding containers in urban areas, and currently restricted to subtropical and tropical areas. Williams et al. focus on the reasons why Ae. aegypti once occurred in locations where the mosquito does not occur anymore in Australia, the more temperate drier parts of the country.