A joint study of the National Public Health Organization in Greece (NPHO) and the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) conducted in 15 Greek hospitals in 2022 sheds light on the rapid spread of carbapenemase-producing, highly drug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae sequence type (ST) 39, following its initial documentation in a European-wide genomic survey in 2019.
The main aim of the genomic study described in this surveillance report was to determine the distribution of the highly drug-resistant clade of Klebsiella pneumoniae (sequence type (ST) 39 in Greek hospitals in 2022.
Outsourced microbiological support to hospital-based surveillance of CDI aims to increase the capacity of laboratories in EU/EEA Member States to perform diagnostic practices with high diagnostic accuracy and acquire comparable typing data from C. difficile isolates.
This issue of the ECDC Communicable Disease Threats Report (CDTR) covers the period 10-16 September 2023 and includes updates on COVID-19, diphtheria, West Nile virus, avian influenza, dengue, legionnaires' disease, the Rugby World Cup 2023, cutaneous Anthrax, pertussis, botulism and severe floods.
Anthrax continues to be uncommon in humans in the EU/EEA, with only a few cases reported every year. For 2021, four confirmed anthrax cases were reported by Bulgaria (one case) and Spain (three cases). Among 30 reporting EU/EEA countries, 27 notified zero cases.
This document provides an update on the safety of substances of human origin (SoHO) in relation to COVID-19. It reassesses the risk and proposes revised mitigation measures for preventing transmission through SoHO.