Weekly releases (1997–2007) - Volume 12, Issue 47, 22 November 2007

The European dedicated surveillance network EuroHIV (formerly the European Centre for the Epidemiological Monitoring of AIDS) has been carrying out surveillance based on AIDS case reporting since 1984 [1] and HIV case reporting since 1999

The first outbreak of autochthonously transmitted Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in Europe, which recently occurred in the province of Ravenna in north-eastern Italy has been completely controlled: the last case onset occurred on 28 September in the town of Rimini, and in October no cases were confirmed.

There have been six confirmed cases of dengue on the Cayman Islands in the last month, introduced from residents returning from elsewhere in the Caribbean.

Outbreak investigations often share common methodologies and scenarios. One has to confirm the outbreak, establish a case definition, generate hypotheses, decide on a study design, gather data as fast and completely as possible, perform statistical analyses and (hopefully) identify the vehicle and take appropriate control measures.

On 14 September 2007, an outbreak of acute gastroenteritis was reported among health care workers (HCW) employed at a hospital in Barcelona, Spain.

The 2007 annual report of the European Monitoring Centre for Drugs and Drug Addiction (EMCDDA) highlights an encouraging development in the reported numbers of newly diagnosed HIV infections among injecting drug users (IDUs) in the European Union (EU), but still very high levels of hepatitis C infection.