Edoardo Colzani, Kari Johansen, Helen Johnson, Lucia Pastore Celentano
{"title":"Human papillomavirus vaccination in the European Union/European Economic Area and globally: a moral dilemma.","authors":"Edoardo Colzani, Kari Johansen, Helen Johnson, Lucia Pastore Celentano","doi":"10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.50.2001659","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.50.2001659","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>While many European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries recently expanded human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to boys, HPV vaccine supply is currently limited for girls in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) that are severely affected by HPV.Globally, about 50% of countries have introduced HPV vaccination. Some LMIC with high burden of cervical cancer have not yet introduced HPV vaccination, or are reaching suboptimal vaccination coverage. While WHO issued a call for cervical cancer elimination in 2018, a global shortage of HPV vaccines is currently predicted to last at least until 2024.We reviewed national policies of EU/EEA countries and recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunisation to discuss current challenges and dose-sparing options. Several EU/EEA countries have extended HPV vaccination to boys and the European Cancer Organisation has issued a resolution for elimination of all HPV-associated cancers in both sexes. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control concluded in its 2020 guidance that cost-effectiveness of extending routine vaccination to boys depends on several context-specific factors. The extension of HPV vaccination to boys in EU/EEA countries may affect global availability of vaccines. Temporary dose-sparing options could be considered during the COVID-19 post-pandemic period.</p>","PeriodicalId":520613,"journal":{"name":"Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":19.0,"publicationDate":"2021-12-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8728487/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39608998","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brechje de Gier, Stijn Andeweg, Jantien A Backer, Susan Jm Hahné, Susan van den Hof, Hester E de Melker, Mirjam J Knol
{"title":"Vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 transmission to household contacts during dominance of Delta variant (B.1.617.2), the Netherlands, August to September 2021.","authors":"Brechje de Gier, Stijn Andeweg, Jantien A Backer, Susan Jm Hahné, Susan van den Hof, Hester E de Melker, Mirjam J Knol","doi":"10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.44.2100977","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.44.2100977","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>We estimated SARS-CoV-2 vaccine effectiveness against onward transmission by comparing secondary attack rates among household members for vaccinated and unvaccinated index cases, based on source and contact tracing data collected when the Delta variant was dominant. Effectiveness of full vaccination of the index case against transmission to unvaccinated and fully vaccinated household contacts, respectively, was 63% (95% confidence interval (CI): 46-75) and 40% (95% CI: 20-54), in addition to the direct protection of vaccination of contacts against infection.</p>","PeriodicalId":520613,"journal":{"name":"Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":19.0,"publicationDate":"2021-11-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8569927/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39592428","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Erratum for Euro Surveill. 2021;26(31).","authors":"","doi":"10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.35.210902e","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.35.210902e","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":520613,"journal":{"name":"Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":19.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8414954/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39380411","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Davide Resi, Stefania Varani, Anna Rosa Sannella, Alessandra M De Pascali, Margherita Ortalli, Giovanna Liguori, Marco Benvenuti, Maria C Re, Roberta Pirani, Luciana Prete, Claudia Mazzetti, Muriel Musti, Lorenzo Pizzi, Tiziana Sanna, Simone M Cacciò
{"title":"A large outbreak of giardiasis in a municipality of the Bologna province, north-eastern Italy, November 2018 to April 2019.","authors":"Davide Resi, Stefania Varani, Anna Rosa Sannella, Alessandra M De Pascali, Margherita Ortalli, Giovanna Liguori, Marco Benvenuti, Maria C Re, Roberta Pirani, Luciana Prete, Claudia Mazzetti, Muriel Musti, Lorenzo Pizzi, Tiziana Sanna, Simone M Cacciò","doi":"10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.35.2001331","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.35.2001331","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Giardiasis, the disease caused by the flagellate <i>Giardia duodenalis</i> (syn. <i>G.lamblia, G. intestinalis</i>), is the most commonly reported among the five food- and waterborne parasitic diseases under mandatory surveillance in 24 EU countries. From November 2018 to April 2019, an outbreak of giardiasis occurred in a municipality of the Bologna province, in north-eastern Italy. Microscopy and immunochromatography identified cysts and antigens, respectively, of the parasite in stool samples of 228 individuals. Molecular typing of 136 stool samples revealed a vast predominance (95%) of <i>G. duodenalis</i> assemblage B. Investigations into potential sources indicated tap water as the most likely vehicle of infection, although cysts were not detected in water samples. Control measures mostly aimed at preventing secondary transmission by informing citizens about the outbreak, and by treatment of patients with anti-parasitic drugs. This is the first documented human outbreak of giardiasis in Italy; its investigation has highlighted the difficulties in the timely detection and management of this parasite, which is often overlooked as a cause of human gastroenteritis. The long and variable incubation time, absence of specific symptoms and a general lack of awareness about this pathogen contributed to delay in diagnosis.</p>","PeriodicalId":520613,"journal":{"name":"Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":19.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8414958/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39380413","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thomas Harder, Judith Koch, Sabine Vygen-Bonnet, Wiebe Külper-Schiek, Antonia Pilic, Sarah Reda, Stefan Scholz, Ole Wichmann
{"title":"Authors' response: Efficacy and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection: More data on asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection.","authors":"Thomas Harder, Judith Koch, Sabine Vygen-Bonnet, Wiebe Külper-Schiek, Antonia Pilic, Sarah Reda, Stefan Scholz, Ole Wichmann","doi":"10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.35.2100832","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.35.2100832","url":null,"abstract":"In the post-hoc analysis of the Vaxzevria (ChAdOx1-S, AstraZeneca, Cambridge, United Kingdom) licensure trial by Emary et al. [2], the secondary outcome was named ‘asymptomatic infections and infection with unknown symptoms’. Since the outcome description was imprecise, we decided to exclude these data from our report. We agree with the authors of the letter that because of wide and overlapping confidence intervals, the relevance of Emary et al.’s findings is unclear.","PeriodicalId":520613,"journal":{"name":"Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":19.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8414955/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39380410","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Karin Stiasny, Isabel Santonja, Heidemarie Holzmann, Astrid Essl, Gerold Stanek, Michael Kundi, Franz X Heinz
{"title":"The regional decline and rise of tick-borne encephalitis incidence do not correlate with Lyme borreliosis, Austria, 2005 to 2018.","authors":"Karin Stiasny, Isabel Santonja, Heidemarie Holzmann, Astrid Essl, Gerold Stanek, Michael Kundi, Franz X Heinz","doi":"10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.35.2002108","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.35.2002108","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>BackgroundTick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus is a human pathogen that is expanding its endemic zones in Europe, emerging in previously unaffected regions. In Austria, increasing incidence in alpine regions in the west has been countered by a decline in traditional endemic areas to the east of the country.AimTo shed light on the cause of this disparity, we compared the temporal changes of human TBE incidences in all federal provinces of Austria with those of Lyme borreliosis (LB), which has the same tick vector and rodent reservoir.MethodsThis comparative analysis was based on the surveillance of hospitalised TBE cases by the National Reference Center for TBE and on the analysis of hospitalised LB cases from hospital discharge records across all of Austria from 2005 to 2018.ResultsThe incidences of the two diseases and their annual fluctuations were not geographically concordant. Neither the decline in TBE in the eastern lowlands nor the increase in western alpine regions is paralleled by similar changes in the incidence of LB.ConclusionThe discrepancy between changes in incidence of TBE and LB support the contributions of virus-specific factors beyond the mere availability of tick vectors and/or human outdoor activity, which are a prerequisite for the transmission of both diseases. A better understanding of parameters controlling human pathogenicity and the maintenance of TBE virus in its natural vector-host cycle will generate further insights into the focal nature of TBE and can potentially improve forecasts of TBE risk on smaller regional scales.</p>","PeriodicalId":520613,"journal":{"name":"Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":19.0,"publicationDate":"2021-09-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8414957/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39380414","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Brechje de Gier, Stijn Andeweg, Rosa Joosten, Ronald Ter Schegget, Naomi Smorenburg, Jan van de Kassteele, Susan Jm Hahné, Susan van den Hof, Hester E de Melker, Mirjam J Knol
{"title":"Vaccine effectiveness against SARS-CoV-2 transmission and infections among household and other close contacts of confirmed cases, the Netherlands, February to May 2021.","authors":"Brechje de Gier, Stijn Andeweg, Rosa Joosten, Ronald Ter Schegget, Naomi Smorenburg, Jan van de Kassteele, Susan Jm Hahné, Susan van den Hof, Hester E de Melker, Mirjam J Knol","doi":"10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.31.2100640","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.31.2100640","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Several studies report high effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe disease, however an important knowledge gap is the vaccine effectiveness against transmission (VET). We present estimates of the VET to household and other close contacts in the Netherlands, from February to May 2021, using contact monitoring data. The secondary attack rate among household contacts was lower for fully vaccinated than unvaccinated index cases (11% vs 31%), with an adjusted VET of 71% (95% confidence interval: 63-77).</p>","PeriodicalId":520613,"journal":{"name":"Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":19.0,"publicationDate":"2021-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8343550/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39281620","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Addendum for Euro Surveill. 2021;26(16).","authors":"","doi":"10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.24.2106171a","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.24.2106171a","url":null,"abstract":"","PeriodicalId":520613,"journal":{"name":"Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":19.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8212596/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39243937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Elisabetta Pandolfi, Francesco Gesualdo, Caterina Rizzo, Luisa Russo, Ilaria Campagna, Emanuela Carloni, Carlo Concato, Giulia Linardos, Alberto Villani, Sara Ciampini, Antonino Reale, Elena Boccuzzi, Fabio Midulla, Alberto E Tozzi
{"title":"The impact of pertussis in infants: insights from a hospital-based enhanced surveillance system, Lazio region, Italy, 2016 to 2019.","authors":"Elisabetta Pandolfi, Francesco Gesualdo, Caterina Rizzo, Luisa Russo, Ilaria Campagna, Emanuela Carloni, Carlo Concato, Giulia Linardos, Alberto Villani, Sara Ciampini, Antonino Reale, Elena Boccuzzi, Fabio Midulla, Alberto E Tozzi","doi":"10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.24.2000562","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.24.2000562","url":null,"abstract":"Background Routine surveillance systems for pertussis often suffer from under-recognition and under-reporting. Aim Our aim was to describe the epidemiology and the clinical features of pertussis in children younger than 1 year in an Italian region, detected through an enhanced hospital surveillance system. Methods From 2016 to 2019, we monitored the incidence and the clinical characteristics of hospitalised pertussis cases younger than 1 year in two paediatric hospitals involved in the PERTINENT project. Results We detected 141 pertussis cases, corresponding to an estimated incidence of 105.8 per 100.000 in 2016, 91.7 per 100.000 in 2017, 64.5 per 100.000 in 2018 and 40.9 per 100.000 in 2019, based on the hospitals’ catchment area, roughly corresponding to the Lazio region. A total of 101 cases (77.1%) had a household member with cough or other respiratory symptoms. The most frequent combination of symptoms was paroxysmal cough with apnoea in the absence of fever. Almost 40% had been prescribed an antibiotic treatment before hospitalisation, and the median time from symptom onset to contact with the hospital was 8 days. Thirty-one (22.0%) had complications. Conclusion An enhanced surveillance system showed a high incidence of pertussis among infants in the Lazio region, where the impact of this disease may still be underestimated. Increasing the coverage of pertussis immunisation among pregnant women and improving the capacity for early detection in primary care may contribute to reducing the impact of pertussis among infants.","PeriodicalId":520613,"journal":{"name":"Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":19.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8212589/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39243934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Masoud Dara, Giorgi Kuchukhidze, Askar Yedilbayev, Ihor Perehinets, Tanja Schmidt, W Leif Van Grinsven, Martin J Boeree
{"title":"Early COVID-19 pandemic's toll on tuberculosis services, WHO European Region, January to June 2020.","authors":"Masoud Dara, Giorgi Kuchukhidze, Askar Yedilbayev, Ihor Perehinets, Tanja Schmidt, W Leif Van Grinsven, Martin J Boeree","doi":"10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.24.2100231","DOIUrl":"10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.24.2100231","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>BackgroundEssential health services, including for tuberculosis (TB), are being affected by public health and social measures (PHSM) introduced to control COVID-19. In many settings, TB resources, facilities and equipment are being redirected towards COVID-19 response.AimWe sought to assess the COVID-19 pandemic's impact on TB services in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region.MethodsThe fifty-three European Region Member States were asked to report qualitative and quantitative data in quarter one and two (Q1 and Q2) 2020. TB notifications were triangulated with the severity score on domestic movement restrictions to assess how they may have influenced TB detection.ResultsTwenty-nine countries reported monthly TB notifications for the first half of 2019 and 2020. TB notifications decreased by 35.5% during Q2 2020 compared with Q2 2019, which is six-fold more than the average annual decrease of 5.1% documented during 2015-2019. The number of patients enrolled in rifampicin-resistant/multidrug-resistant TB treatment also decreased dramatically in Q2 2020, by 33.5%. The highest movement restriction severity score was observed between April and May 2020, which coincided with the highest observed decrease in TB notifications.ConclusionA decrease in TB detection and enrolment to treatment may cause increases in TB burden and threatens the Region's ability to reach the TB targets of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, still this might be mitigated with rapid restoration of TB services and the implementation of targeted interventions during periods with severe PHSM in place, such as those introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.</p>","PeriodicalId":520613,"journal":{"name":"Euro surveillance : bulletin Europeen sur les maladies transmissibles = European communicable disease bulletin","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2021-06-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8212590/pdf/","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"39243939","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}