Eurosurveillance - Volume 20, Issue 32, 13 August 2015

We report an imported case of louse-borne relapsing fever in a young adult Eritrean refugee who presented with fever shortly after arriving in Switzerland. Analysis of blood smears revealed spirochetes identified as Borrelia recurrentis by 16S rRNA gene sequencing. We believe that louse-borne relapsing fever may be seen more frequently in Europe as a consequence of a recent increase in refugees from East Africa travelling to Europe under poor hygienic conditions in confined spaces.

Surveillance of sexually transmitted diseases in France is based on voluntary networks of laboratories and clinicians. Despite the importance of incidence data in improving knowledge about the national context and in international comparisons, such data were not previously available. During nationwide quality control of laboratories, mandatory for all laboratories, we conducted a survey in June 2013 to estimate the incidence rates of gonococcal and chlamydial infections for 2012 and to estimate the proportion of diagnoses performed (coverage) by the country's two laboratory-based sentinel networks for these diseases. Estimated incidence rates for 2012 were 39 per 100,000 persons aged 15 to 59 years for gonorrhoea and 257 per 100,000 persons aged 15 to 49 years for chlamydia. These rates were consistent with the average levels for a group of other Western countries. However, different estimates between countries may reflect disparate sources of surveillance data and diverse screening strategies. Better comparability between countries requires harmonising data sources and the presentation of results. Estimated coverage rates of the gonococcal and chlamydial infection surveillance networks in France in 2012 were 23% and 18%, respectively, with substantial regional variations. These variations justify improving the representativeness of these networks by adding laboratories in insufficiently covered areas. .

To estimate susceptibility to the swine-origin influenza A(H3N2) variant virus (A(H3N2)v) in the German population, we investigated cross-reactive antibodies against this virus and factors associated with seroprotective titre using sera from representative health examination surveys of children and adolescents (n?=?815, 2003-06) and adults (n?=?600, 2008-10). Antibodies were assessed by haemagglutination inhibition assay (HI); in our study an HI titre?≥?40 was defined as seroprotective. We investigated associated factors by multivariable logistic regression. Overall, 41% (95% confidence interval (CI): 37-45) of children and adolescents and 39% (95% CI: 34-44) of adults had seroprotective titres. The proportion of people with seroprotective titre was lowest among children younger than 10 years (15%; 95% CI: 7-30) and highest among adults aged 18 to 29 years (59%; 95% CI: 49-67). Prior influenza vaccination was associated with higher odds of having seroprotective titre (odds ratio (OR) for children and adolescents: 3.4; 95% CI: 1.8-6.5; OR for adults: 2.4; 95% CI: 1.7-3.4). Young children showed the highest and young adults the lowest susceptibility to the A(H3N2)v virus. Our results suggest that initial exposure to circulating seasonal influenza viruses may predict long-term cross-reactivity that may be enhanced by seasonal influenza vaccination. .