Eurosurveillance - Volume 13, Issue 14, 03 April 2008

High-level mupirocin resistance was detected among 37 of 2,586 (1.4%) methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) blood-stream isolates sent to the Ireland's National MRSA Reference Laboratory between 1 January 1999 and 31 December 2005, compared with 29 of 997 isolates (2.9%) sent between 1 January 2006 and 31 December 2007.

The latest HIV data for 2007 has recently been published for the United Kingdom (UK). During the year, an estimated 6,840 (95% confidence intervals 6,600-7,050) persons (adjusted for reporting delays) were newly diagnosed with HIV in the UK. This represents a 12% decline from a peak of new HIV diagnoses reported in 2005 (7,800). Almost all this decline in new HIV diagnoses was in HIV-infected heterosexuals from sub-Saharan Africa who were probably infected in their country of origin.

The European Football Championship 2008 (EURO 2008) is jointly organised by Switzerland and Austria and will take place between 7 and 29 June 2008. The Austrian Public Health Service is making special preparations for a potential public health crisis during this mass gathering, which is expected to have around 550,000 spectators [1].

In 2004, a lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) epidemic among men who have sex with men in the Netherlands motivated the introduction of enhanced surveillance. We evaluated the acceptability of the enhanced LGV surveillance in the Netherlands in 2004-2005 to provide recommendations for future surveillance. Completeness of requested patient information was analysed. All 12 sexually transmitted infection (STI) health services participating in the 2004-2005 STI surveillance completed evaluation questionnaires and rated surveillance system features from 1='very poor' to 5='very good'. Information from enhanced LGV surveillance was available for 34 (33%) of 104 cases. For these 34 cases, median proportions of response decreased successively for clinical information (100%), sexual anamnesis (71%) and details about the last sex partners (44%). A median score of 4 ('good') was assigned to simplicity, required resources and surveillance information requested and distributed. Seven respondents favoured continuation of LGV surveillance, whereof six preferred modifications, usually meaning less extensive surveillance. In conclusion, the enhanced LGV surveillance was generally regarded as adequate. However, it was limited by low completeness, underlining the need to keep requested information to a minimum. The routine STI surveillance now includes LGV diagnosis and, following this evaluation, the additional enhanced surveillance was discontinued. However, occasional cases justify alertness and LGV remains under routine STI surveillance in the Netherlands. .

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control has announced a number of job vacancies.

In the article on Human Listeria monocytogenes infections in Europe - an opportunity for improved European surveillance, published in Eurosurveillance vol. 13 issue 13 on 27 March 2008, Tables 2 and 1 were corrected on 28 and 31 March 2008, respectively.