Eurosurveillance - Volume 16, Issue 45, 10 November 2011

An increased number of legionellosis cases in 2011 has been reported in Latvia, compared to the ten previous years. A total of 30 legionellosis cases (1.35 per 100,000 inhabitants), including 19 females, have been confirmed until the end of September 2011. The majority of cases (n=23) were inhabitants of the capital city Riga. The reason for the increase in legionellosis is unclear. Twenty-six of the 30 cases are not travel-related.

A cluster of two confirmed cases of anthrax were reported in October 2011 from a small village with a population of 3,400 people, in south-eastern Romania. One was a fatal case of cutaneous and anthrax meningoencephalitis, while the other had cutaneous anthrax. Both cases had been exposed to one Bacillus anthracis-infected cow via consumption of its meat or being involved in its slaughter.

This brief report outlines selected highlights of new research on pandemic influenza that was presented at the 2011 World Congress of Epidemiology. This event was held in Edinburgh, United Kingdom between 7 and 11 August. The conference had over 1,400 attendees from an estimated 65 countries. The theme was Changing populations, changing diseases: epidemiology for tomorrow's world and was facilitated by the International Epidemiological Association. Abstracts of the conference posters and slide presentations have been published [1]. .