Eurosurveillance - Volume 8, Issue 1, 01 January 2003

A retrospective cohort study was conducted to investigate an outbreak of Norwalk-like viral gastroenteritidis that occurred in Irish holidaymakers visiting Andorra, in January–February 2002. Preliminary results showed the risk exposure was higher for tourists who stayed in Soldeu and consumed ice cubes in their drinks (OR = 2.5, 95% CI [1.3–4.6)], after logistic regression and adjusting for sex and water consumption).

Puumala hantavirus infection is prevalent throughout most of Europe, and in endemic areas it may be the most common cause of acute renal failure. To evaluate trends in incidence of Puumala virus infections in Finland, we analysed national surveillance data in 12-month periods from March 1995 to February 2002. During this time, 8184 laboratory-confirmed cases were notified to the National Infectious Disease Register. Three epidemic periods were identified, for which the number of cases was more than 1400 (there were approximately 600-900 cases per non-epidemic period). The incidence of Puumala hantavirus infection varied by geographic region during the study period, and the overall number of cases may be increasing.

In France, the number of reports of suspected CJD increased from 1998 to 2000, probably due to the increase in the requests for biological tests: respectively 459 in 1998, 590 in 1999, and 823 in 2000. For all three years, the distribution by sex is similar, with a sex ratio (M/F) of 1.05. The proportion of suspected cases aged under 50 remained stable (16% of all reports in 1998–2000). The number of sporadic CJD, confirmed or probable, was stable, with a mortality ratio of 1.38 per one million in 1998, 1.56 in 1999, and 1.41 in 2000.

A descriptive analysis of routine surveillance data on tuberculosis (TB) from 1995 to 1999 was performed in Austria. The federal states of Vienna and Upper Austria showed the highest yearly incidences for all five years. In general, however, a decrease of the yearly incidence was observed for all federal states except for Carinthia (where there was a small increase of 3.2 %). In the cities of Vienna, Linz, Wels, Salzburg, Klagenfurt and St-Pölten, as well as in the regions of Eastern Tyrol, Southern Carinthia, and Southern Burgenland, the incidence was above average (>19 cases/100 000 for each). The number of cases per year and per district reported by the statutory reporting system were clearly in excess of those reported by hospitals. The comparison of the two datasets, however, showed a highly significant regional correlation of age standardised morbidity rates at district level. The findings are prone to reporting bias and might not reflect the real TB situation. The responsible health authorities should therefore consider the results as a 'working hypothesis’ in order to review the reporting behaviour at district level.