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Abstract

Background

Leptospirosis is a zoonotic disease caused by bacteria of the genus . Humans are infected by exposure to animal urine or urine-contaminated environments. Although disease incidence is lower in Europe compared with tropical regions, there have been reports of an increase in leptospirosis cases since the 2000s in some European countries.

Aim

We aimed to describe the epidemiology of reported cases of leptospirosis in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) during 2010−2021 and to identify potential changes in epidemiological patterns.

Methods

We ran a descriptive analysis of leptospirosis cases reported by EU/EEA countries to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control with disease during 2010−2021. We also analysed trends at EU/EEA and national level.

Results

During 2010–2021, 23 countries reported 12,180 confirmed leptospirosis cases corresponding to a mean annual notification rate of 0.24 cases per 100,000 population. Five countries (France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal and Romania) accounted for 79% of all reported cases. The highest notification rate was observed in Slovenia with 0.82 cases per 100,000 population. Overall, the notification rate increased by 5.0% per year from 2010 to 2021 (95% CI: 1.2–8.8%), although trends differed across countries.

Conclusion

The notification rate of leptospirosis at EU/EEA level increased during 2010−2021 despite including the first 2 years of the COVID-19 pandemic and associated changes in population behaviours. Studies at (sub)national level would help broaden the understanding of differences at country-level and specificities in terms of exposure to , as well as biases in diagnosis and reporting.

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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2024-02-15
2024-12-21
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Epidemiology of reported cases of leptospirosis in the EU/EEA, 2010 to 2021
<p class="citation"> <span>Citation style for this article:</span> <span class="meta-value authors"> <a href="/search?value1=Julien+Beaut%C3%A9&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Beauté Julien</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Francesco+Innocenti&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Innocenti Francesco</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Aristos+Aristodimou&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Aristodimou Aristos</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Michaela+%C5%A0pa%C4%8Dkov%C3%A1&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Špačková Michaela</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Caroline+Eves&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Eves Caroline</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Natalia+Kerbo&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Kerbo Natalia</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Ruska+Rimhanen-Finne&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Rimhanen-Finne Ruska</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Mathieu+Picardeau&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Picardeau Mathieu</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Mirko+Faber&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Faber Mirko</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Georgios+Dougas&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Dougas Georgios</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Anna+Margr%C3%A9t+Halld%C3%B3rsd%C3%B3ttir&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Halldórsdóttir Anna Margrét</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Sarah+Jackson&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Jackson Sarah</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Viktorija+Leit%C4%93na&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Leitēna Viktorija</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Anne+Vergison&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Vergison Anne</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Maria+Louise+Borg&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Borg Maria Louise</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Roan+Pijnacker&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Pijnacker Roan</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Ma%C5%82gorzata+Sadkowska-Todys&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Sadkowska-Todys Małgorzata</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Jo%C3%A3o+Vieira+Martins&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Martins João Vieira</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Lavinia+Cipriana+Rusu&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Rusu Lavinia Cipriana</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Eva+Grilc&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Grilc Eva</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Rosa+M+Est%C3%A9vez-Reboredo&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Estévez-Reboredo Rosa M</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Taina+Niskanen&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Niskanen Taina</a>, <a href="/search?value1=Therese+Westrell&option1=author&noRedirect=true" class="nonDisambigAuthorLink">Westrell Therese</a></span>. Epidemiology of reported cases of leptospirosis in the EU/EEA, 2010 to 2021. <a href="/content/ecdc">Euro Surveill.</a> 2024;29(7):pii=2300266. <a href="https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.7.2300266" title="doi link" target="_blank">https://doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.7.2300266</a> <span class="ES_Article_citation"> <span class="generated">Received</span>: 12 May 2023;&nbsp;&nbsp; <span class="generated">Accepted</span>: 09 Nov 2023 </span> </p>
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