Eurosurveillance - Volume 21, Issue 2, 14 January 2016

We report a Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in a patient with fever and rash after returning to Finland from Maldives, June 2015. The patient had dengue virus (DENV) IgG and IgM antibodies but pan-flavivirus RT-PCR and subsequent sequencing showed presence of ZIKV RNA in urine. Recent association of ZIKV with microcephaly highlights the need for laboratory differentiation of ZIKV from DENV infection and the circulation of ZIKV in areas outside its currently known distribution range.

Many refugees arriving in Germany originate or have travelled through countries with high prevalence of multidrug-resistant Gram-negative organisms. Therefore, all unaccompanied refugee minors (<18 years-old) arriving in Frankfurt am Main between 12 October and 6 November 2015, were screened for multidrug-resistant Enterobacteriaceae in stool samples. Enterobacteriaceae with extended spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBL) were detected in 42 of 119 (35%) individuals, including nine with additional resistance to fluoroquinolones (8% of total screened), thus exceeding the prevalences in the German population by far.

Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (MDR GNB) were found to colonise 60.8% (95% confidence interval: 52.3–68.9) of 143 refugee patients mainly from Syria (47), Afghanistan (29), and Somalia (14) admitted to the University Hospital Frankfurt, Germany, between June and December 2015. This percentage exceeds the prevalence of MDR GNB in resident patients four–fold. Healthcare personnel should be aware of this and the need to implement or adapt adequate infection control measures.

In December 2015, an asylum seeker originating from Afghanistan was diagnosed with respiratory diphtheria in Finland. He arrived in Finland from Sweden where he had already been clinically suspected and tested for diphtheria. Corynebacterium diphtheriae was confirmed in Sweden and shown to be genotypically and phenotypically toxigenic. The event highlights the importance of early case detection, rapid communication within the country and internationally as well as preparedness plans of diphtheria antitoxin availability.

The EuroRotaNet surveillance network has conducted rotavirus genotype surveillance since 2007 in 16 European countries. Using epidemiological and microbiological data from 39,786 genotyped rotavirus-positive specimens collected between September 2007 and August 2013, we assessed genotype distribution and age distribution of rotavirus gastroenteritis (RVGE) cases in and out of peak season in 12 countries which were yet to implement routine rotavirus vaccination. In multinomial multivariate logistic regression, adjusting for year, country and age, the odds of infection caused by genotype-constellation 2 DS-1-like stains (adjusted multinomial odds ratio (aM-OR) = 1.25; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.13–1.37; p < 0.001), mixed or untypable genotypes (aM-OR = 1.55; 95% CI: 1.40–1.72; p < 0.001) and less common genotypes (aM-OR = 2.11; 95% CI:1.78–2.51; p < 0.001) increased out of season relative to G1P[8]. Age varied significantly between seasons; the proportion of RVGE cases younger than 12 months in the United Kingdom increased from 34% in season to 39% out of season (aM-OR = 1.66; 95% CI: 1.20–2.30), and the proportion five years and older increased from 9% in season to 17% out of season (aM-OR = 2.53; 95% CI: 1.67–3.82). This study provides further understanding of the rotavirus ecology before vaccine introduction, which will help interpret epidemiological changes in countries introducing or expanding rotavirus vaccination programmes.