Weekly releases (1997–2007) - Volume 10, Issue 6, 10 February 2005

The first case of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in a Japanese patient was announced by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on 4 February 2005

Following the confirmation in January 2005 of a French goat having a transmissible pongiform encephalopathy indistinguishable from BSE, the United Kingdom Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has announced that a goat in the UK, confirmed as having scrapie in 1990, may have had BSE

In week 4/2005 of the 2004-2005 influenza surveillance season, clinical influenza activity was at medium intensity in eight participating countries (Austria, England, France, Italy, Luxembourg, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland) and low in 16 other countries

The authors of a recent Italian study have concluded that human metapneumovirus is a recently identified cause of acute respiratory infection in childhood and may have a significant socioeconomic impact on both children and their families