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- Volume 26, Issue 50, 16/Dec/2021
Eurosurveillance - Volume 26, Issue 50, 16 December 2021
Volume 26, Issue 50, 2021
- Editorial
- Rapid communication
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Outbreak caused by the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant in Norway, November to December 2021
Lin T. Brandal , Emily MacDonald , Lamprini Veneti , Tine Ravlo , Heidi Lange , Umaer Naseer , Siri Feruglio , Karoline Bragstad , Olav Hungnes , Liz E. Ødeskaug , Frode Hagen , Kristian E. Hanch-Hansen , Andreas Lind , Sara Viksmoen Watle , Arne M. Taxt , Mia Johansen , Line Vold , Preben Aavitsland , Karin Nygård and Elisabeth H. MadslienIn late November 2021, an outbreak of Omicron SARS-CoV-2 following a Christmas party with 117 attendees was detected in Oslo, Norway. We observed an attack rate of 74% and most cases developed symptoms. As at 13 December, none have been hospitalised. Most participants were 30–50 years old. Ninety-six percent of them were fully vaccinated. These findings corroborate reports that the Omicron variant may be more transmissible, and that vaccination may be less effective in preventing infection compared with Delta.
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Epidemiological characterisation of the first 785 SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant cases in Denmark, December 2021
Laura Espenhain , Tjede Funk , Maria Overvad , Sofie Marie Edslev , Jannik Fonager , Anna Cäcilia Ingham , Morten Rasmussen , Sarah Leth Madsen , Caroline Hjorth Espersen , Raphael N. Sieber , Marc Stegger , Vithiagaran Gunalan , Bartlomiej Wilkowski , Nicolai Balle Larsen , Rebecca Legarth , Arieh Sierra Cohen , Finn Nielsen , Janni Uyen Hoa Lam , Kjetil Erdogan Lavik , Marianne Karakis , Katja Spiess , Ellinor Marving , Christian Nielsen , Christina Wiid Svarrer , Jonas Bybjerg-Grauholm , Stefan Schytte Olsen , Anders Jensen , Tyra Grove Krause and Luise MüllerBy 9 December 2021, 785 SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant cases have been identified in Denmark. Most cases were fully (76%) or booster-vaccinated (7.1%); 34 (4.3%) had a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection. The majority of cases with available information reported symptoms (509/666; 76%) and most were infected in Denmark (588/644; 91%). One in five cases cannot be linked to previous cases, indicating widespread community transmission. Nine cases have been hospitalised, one required intensive care and no deaths have been registered.
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COVID-19 trends and severity among symptomatic children aged 0–17 years in 10 European Union countries, 3 August 2020 to 3 October 2021
We estimated risks of severe outcomes in 820,404 symptomatic paediatric COVID-19 cases reported by 10 European Union countries between August 2020 and October 2021. Case and hospitalisation rates rose as transmission increased but severe outcomes were rare: 9,611 (1.2%) were hospitalised, 640 (0.08%) required intensive care and 84 (0.01%) died. Despite increased individual risk (adjusted odds ratio hospitalisation: 7.3; 95% confidence interval: 3.3–16.2; intensive care: 8.7; 6.2–12.3) in cases with comorbidities, most (83.7%) hospitalised children had no comorbidity.
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An imported case of vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2, Spain in the context of the ongoing polio Public Health Emergency of International Concern, September 2021
María Dolores Chirlaque López , María Cabrerizo , Bernardo R. Guzmán Herrador , Josefa Masa-Calles , María Ester Alarcón-Linares , Ana Allende , Esteban Aznar Cano , María Isabel Barranco Boada , Elena Cantero Gudino , Sonia Fernández-Balbuena , Ana Fernández Dueñas , María Dolores Fernández-García , Laura García Hernández , Visitación García Ortúzar , Noemí López-Perea , Eduardo Martínez-Salcedo , Antonio Moreno-Docón , María Ordobás Gavín , Inmaculada Rodero Garduño , Maria José Sierra Moros , Fernando Simón Soria , Aurora Limia Sánchez and Berta Suárez RodríguezThe monthly retrospective search for unreported acute flaccid paralysis (AFP) cases conducted as a complementary component of the Spanish AFP surveillance system identified a case of AFP in a child admitted in Spain from Senegal during August 2021. Vaccine-derived poliovirus 2 was identified in the stool in September 2021. We present public health implications and response undertaken within the framework of the National Action Plan for Polio Eradication and the Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
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- Surveillance
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Assessment of population infection with SARS-CoV-2 in Ontario, Canada, March to June 2020
Shelly Bolotin , Vanessa Tran , Shelley L Deeks , Adriana Peci , Kevin A Brown , Sarah A Buchan , Katherene Ogbulafor , Tubani Ramoutar , Michelle Nguyen , Rakesh Thakkar , Reynato DelaCruz , Reem Mustfa , Jocelyn Maregmen , Orville Woods , Ted Krasna , Kirby Cronin , Selma Osman , Eugene Joh and Vanessa G AllenBackgroundSerosurveys for SARS-CoV-2 aim to estimate the proportion of the population that has been infected.
AimThis observational study assesses the seroprevalence of SARS-CoV-2 antibodies in Ontario, Canada during the first pandemic wave.
MethodsUsing an orthogonal approach, we tested 8,902 residual specimens from the Public Health Ontario laboratory over three time periods during March–June 2020 and stratified results by age group, sex and region. We adjusted for antibody test sensitivity/specificity and compared with reported PCR-confirmed COVID-19 cases.
ResultsAdjusted seroprevalence was 0.5% (95% confidence interval (CI): 0.1–1.5) from 27 March–30 April, 1.5% (95% CI: 0.7–2.2) from 26–31 May, and 1.1% (95% CI: 0.8–1.3) from 5–30 June 2020. Adjusted estimates were highest in individuals aged ≥ 60 years in March–April (1.3%; 95% CI: 0.2–4.6), in those aged 20–59 years in May (2.1%; 95% CI: 0.8–3.4) and in those aged ≥ 60 years in June (1.6%; 95% CI: 1.1–2.1). Regional seroprevalence varied, and was highest for Toronto in March–April (0.9%; 95% CI: 0.1–3.1), for Toronto in May (3.2%; 95% CI: 1.0–5.3) and for Toronto (1.5%; 95% CI: 0.9–2.1) and Central East in June (1.5%; 95% CI: 1.0–2.0). We estimate that COVID-19 cases detected by PCR in Ontario underestimated SARS-CoV-2 infections by a factor of 4.9.
ConclusionsOur results indicate low population seroprevalence in Ontario, suggesting that public health measures were effective at limiting the spread of SARS-CoV-2 during the first pandemic wave.
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- Research
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Low vaccination coverage for human papillomavirus disease among young men who have sex with men, France, 2019
BackgroundIn France, human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination has been recommended in 2016 for men who have sex with men (MSM) up to age 26 years.
AimWe aimed to estimate HPV vaccine coverage in 18–28 year-old MSM and identify uptake determinants.
MethodsWe collected data on socio-demographic characteristics, sexual behaviour, sexually transmitted diseases (STI) screening and vaccination uptake using a voluntary cross-sectional online survey conducted in 2019 targeting MSM. We calculated coverage of at least one dose of HPV vaccine and prevalence ratios (PR) of determinants with 95% confidence intervals (CI) using Poisson regression.
ResultsOf 9,469 respondents (age range: 18–28 years), 15% (95% CI: 14–16) reported being vaccinated for HPV. Coverage was significantly higher among MSM < 24 years (PR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.13–1.39), with education level below university degree (PR: 1.12; 95% CI: 1.08–1.32), living in rural areas (PR: 1.21; 95% CI: 1.08–1.36), attending sex parties (PR: 1.12; 95% CI: 1.03–1.33), using HIV-related biomedical prevention methods (PR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.12–1.54), with STI diagnosis (PR: 1.22; 95% CI: 1.08–1.38) and with hepatitis A or B vaccination (PR: 4.56; 95% CI: 3.63–5.81 vs PR: 3.35; 95% CI: 2.53–4.44).
ConclusionsThe HPV vaccination uptake among MSM in France was not satisfactory. It was higher among MSM benefitting from other vaccinations and biomedical preventive methods against HIV, suggesting a synergistic effect of the national preventive sexual health recommendations for MSM. Further efforts to improve HPV vaccination coverage targeting MSM are warranted.
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- Perspective
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Human papillomavirus vaccination in the European Union/European Economic Area and globally: a moral dilemma
While many European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) countries recently expanded human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination to boys, HPV vaccine supply is currently limited for girls in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) that are severely affected by HPV.
Globally, about 50% of countries have introduced HPV vaccination. Some LMIC with high burden of cervical cancer have not yet introduced HPV vaccination, or are reaching suboptimal vaccination coverage. While WHO issued a call for cervical cancer elimination in 2018, a global shortage of HPV vaccines is currently predicted to last at least until 2024.
We reviewed national policies of EU/EEA countries and recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on immunisation to discuss current challenges and dose-sparing options. Several EU/EEA countries have extended HPV vaccination to boys and the European Cancer Organisation has issued a resolution for elimination of all HPV-associated cancers in both sexes. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control concluded in its 2020 guidance that cost-effectiveness of extending routine vaccination to boys depends on several context-specific factors. The extension of HPV vaccination to boys in EU/EEA countries may affect global availability of vaccines. Temporary dose-sparing options could be considered during the COVID-19 post-pandemic period.
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- Letter
- Miscellaneous
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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)
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