Eurosurveillance - Volume 15, Issue 34, 26 August 2010

Between early July and 22 August 2010, 81 cases of West Nile neuroinvasive disease were reported in the region of Central Macedonia, northern Greece. The median age of cases was 70 years. Encephalitis, meningoencephalitis or aseptic meningitis occurred mainly in patients aged 50 years or older. This is the first time that West Nile virus (WNV) infection has been documented in humans in Greece. Enhanced surveillance and mosquito control measures have been implemented.

Since the occurrence of West Nile virus (WNV) infection in humans in 2008 in Italy, concerns have been raised about the potential risks associated with solid organ transplantation (SOT). A nationwide retrospective survey showed that 1.2% of SOT donors in 2009 were WNV-seropositive and demonstrated that human WNV infection is distributed throughout several Italian regions. Transmission of WNV or other arboviruses through SOT is a possibility and risk assessment should be carried out before SOT to avoid infection through transplantation.

We report about West Nile virus (WNV) infections in a symptomatic traveller returning from Israel and in her asymptomatic travel companion. Knowledge of the current epidemiological situation in Israel from where WNV cases were reported recently enabled a rapid diagnosis. The described cases serve as a reminder for physicians to consider WNV in the diagnosis of patients returning from areas with potential circulation of the virus.

In March 2009, six cases of invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) were reported in two communes of Goleniów County in north-west Poland. The people affected were aged from seven to 25 years. The overall incidence rate in the county was eight per 100,000 population. All the patients recovered fully. No epidemiological links were established between the cases. All were infected with Neisseria meningitidis serogroup C, sequence type (ST) 11 and analysis of isolate DNA restriction fragment length polymorphism showed indistinguishable pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns. Sequencing of porA and fetA genes revealed that all isolates had PorA variant P1.5,2 and FetA variant F3-3. Based on epidemiological and microbiological data, the Polish Working Party on Meningococcal Infections took the decision to compulsorily vaccinate populations at highest risk in the region - primarily people aged from 6 to 19 years. .