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- Volume 26, Issue 24, 17/Jun/2021
Eurosurveillance - Volume 26, Issue 24, 17 June 2021
Volume 26, Issue 24, 2021
- Editorial
- Rapid communication
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Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on tuberculosis national reference laboratory services in the WHO European Region, March to November 2020
We assessed the impact of COVID-19 on diagnostic services for tuberculosis (TB) by national reference laboratories in the WHO European Region. Of 35 laboratories, 30 reported declines in TB sample numbers, amounting up to > 50% of the pre-COVID-19 volumes. Sixteen reported reagent or consumable shortages. Nineteen reallocated ressources to SARS-CoV-2 testing, resulting in an overall increase in workload, largely without a concomitant increase in personnel (n = 14). This poses a risk to meeting the 2025 milestones of the End TB Strategy.
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Isolation of clade 2.3.4.4b A(H5N8), a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, from a worker during an outbreak on a poultry farm, Russia, December 2020
Olga G Pyankova , Ivan M Susloparov , Anastasia A Moiseeva , Natalia P Kolosova , Galina S Onkhonova , Aleksey V Danilenko , Elena V Vakalova , Gennady L Shendo , Natalia N Nekeshina , Lyudmila N Noskova , Julia V Demina , Natalia V Frolova , Elena V Gavrilova , Rinat A Maksyutov and Aleksandr B RyzhikovThis study presents the isolation of influenza A(H5N8) virus clade 2.3.4.4b from a poultry worker during an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza A(H5N8) among chickens at a poultry farm in Astrakhan, Russia in December 2020. Nasopharyngeal swabs collected from seven poultry workers were positive for influenza A(H5N8), as confirmed by RT-PCR and sequencing. The influenza A(H5N8) virus was isolated from one of the human specimens and characterised. Sporadic human influenza A(H5)2.3.4.4. infections represent a possible concern for public health.
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Increased transmissibility and global spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern as at June 2021
We present a global analysis of the spread of recently emerged SARS-CoV-2 variants and estimate changes in effective reproduction numbers at country-specific level using sequence data from GISAID. Nearly all investigated countries demonstrated rapid replacement of previously circulating lineages by the World Health Organization-designated variants of concern, with estimated transmissibility increases of 29% (95% CI: 24–33), 25% (95% CI: 20–30), 38% (95% CI: 29–48) and 97% (95% CI: 76–117), respectively, for B.1.1.7, B.1.351, P.1 and B.1.617.2.
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Effectiveness of mRNA COVID-19 vaccines in preventing SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19 hospitalisations and deaths in elderly long-term care facility residents, Spain, weeks 53 2020 to 13 2021
Residents in long-term care facilities (LTCF) experienced a large morbidity and mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain and were prioritised for early COVID-19 vaccination. We used the screening method and population-based data sources to obtain estimates of mRNA COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness for elderly LTCF residents. The estimates were 71% (95% CI: 56–82%), 88% (95% CI: 75–95%), and 97% (95% CI: 92-99%), against SARS-CoV-2 infections (symptomatic and asymptomatic), and COVID-19 hospitalisations and deaths, respectively.
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- Research
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Early COVID-19 pandemic’s toll on tuberculosis services, WHO European Region, January to June 2020
BackgroundEssential health services, including for tuberculosis (TB), are being affected by public health and social measures (PHSM) introduced to control COVID-19. In many settings, TB resources, facilities and equipment are being redirected towards COVID-19 response.
AimWe sought to assess the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on TB services in the World Health Organization (WHO) European Region.
MethodsThe fifty-three European Region Member States were asked to report qualitative and quantitative data in quarter one and two (Q1 and Q2) 2020. TB notifications were triangulated with the severity score on domestic movement restrictions to assess how they may have influenced TB detection.
ResultsTwenty-nine countries reported monthly TB notifications for the first half of 2019 and 2020. TB notifications decreased by 35.5% during Q2 2020 compared with Q2 2019, which is six-fold more than the average annual decrease of 5.1% documented during 2015–2019. The number of patients enrolled in rifampicin-resistant/multidrug-resistant TB treatment also decreased dramatically in Q2 2020, by 33.5%. The highest movement restriction severity score was observed between April and May 2020, which coincided with the highest observed decrease in TB notifications.
ConclusionA decrease in TB detection and enrolment to treatment may cause increases in TB burden and threatens the Region’s ability to reach the TB targets of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals, still this might be mitigated with rapid restoration of TB services and the implementation of targeted interventions during periods with severe PHSM in place, such as those introduced in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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- Surveillance
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The impact of pertussis in infants: insights from a hospital-based enhanced surveillance system, Lazio region, Italy, 2016 to 2019
BackgroundRoutine surveillance systems for pertussis often suffer from under-recognition and under-reporting.
AimOur aim was to describe the epidemiology and the clinical features of pertussis in children younger than 1 year in an Italian region, detected through an enhanced hospital surveillance system.
MethodsFrom 2016 to 2019, we monitored the incidence and the clinical characteristics of hospitalised pertussis cases younger than 1 year in two paediatric hospitals involved in the PERTINENT project.
ResultsWe detected 141 pertussis cases, corresponding to an estimated incidence of 105.8 per 100.000 in 2016, 91.7 per 100.000 in 2017, 64.5 per 100.000 in 2018 and 40.9 per 100.000 in 2019, based on the hospitals’ catchment area, roughly corresponding to the Lazio region. A total of 101 cases (77.1%) had a household member with cough or other respiratory symptoms. The most frequent combination of symptoms was paroxysmal cough with apnoea in the absence of fever. Almost 40% had been prescribed an antibiotic treatment before hospitalisation, and the median time from symptom onset to contact with the hospital was 8 days. Thirty-one (22.0%) had complications.
ConclusionAn enhanced surveillance system showed a high incidence of pertussis among infants in the Lazio region, where the impact of this disease may still be underestimated. Increasing the coverage of pertussis immunisation among pregnant women and improving the capacity for early detection in primary care may contribute to reducing the impact of pertussis among infants.
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- Addendum
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Volumes & issues
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Volume 29 (2024)
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Volume 28 (2023)
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Volume 27 (2022)
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Volume 26 (2021)
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Volume 25 (2020)
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Volume 24 (2019)
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Volume 23 (2018)
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Volume 22 (2017)
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Volume 21 (2016)
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Volume 20 (2015)
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Volume 19 (2014)
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Volume 18 (2013)
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Volume 17 (2012)
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Volume 16 (2011)
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Volume 15 (2010)
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Volume 14 (2009)
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Volume 13 (2008)
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Volume 12 (2007)
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Volume 11 (2006)
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Volume 10 (2005)
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Volume 9 (2004)
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Volume 8 (2003)
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Volume 7 (2002)
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Volume 6 (2001)
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Volume 5 (2000)
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Volume 4 (1999)
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Volume 3 (1998)
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Volume 2 (1997)
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Volume 1 (1996)
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Volume 0 (1995)
Most Read This Month
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Detection of 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) by real-time RT-PCR
Victor M Corman , Olfert Landt , Marco Kaiser , Richard Molenkamp , Adam Meijer , Daniel KW Chu , Tobias Bleicker , Sebastian Brünink , Julia Schneider , Marie Luisa Schmidt , Daphne GJC Mulders , Bart L Haagmans , Bas van der Veer , Sharon van den Brink , Lisa Wijsman , Gabriel Goderski , Jean-Louis Romette , Joanna Ellis , Maria Zambon , Malik Peiris , Herman Goossens , Chantal Reusken , Marion PG Koopmans and Christian Drosten
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