Weekly releases (1997–2007) - Volume 5, Issue 46, 15 November 2001

By the beginning of November 2001, the total number of cases of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) reported in the United Kingdom had reached 111 (www.doh.gov.uk/cjd/stats/nov01.htm). To monitor the underlying trend in vCJD incidence and identify any differences in this trend by factors such as birth cohort and sex, quarterly analyses are performed which estimate the underlying trend.

A scientific meeting was held in Glasgow, Scotland, on 15-16 October 2001 to draw together all the available information about the outbreaks of life threatening infection that occurred among drug injectors in Scotland, England, and Dublin from April to August 2000 (http://www.iduoutbreak.abelgratis.com/) (1, and references therein). Delegates from Scotland, England, Ireland, and Finland attended the meeting. As a result of the current international crisis, contributors from the United States and Norway were unable to attend. A series of presentations by specialists in epidemiology, pathology, microbiology, pharmacy, and law enforcement allowed the following picture to emerge.

The Department of Health has announced the addition of acellular pertussis to the preschool immunisation schedule in the United Kingdom (UK) (1). From 5 November 2001, children attending for their preschool booster immunisations will be given a vaccine against diphtheria, tetanus, and acellular pertussis (DTaP) in place of the vaccine against diphtheria and tetanus.

On 15 June 2000, the Institut de Veille Sanitaire (InVS) in Saint-Maurice, France, was contacted by a physician from the infectious diseases service at Bichat hospital, Paris, about the occurrence of several cases of hepatitis A in homosexual men infected with HIV (1). At the same time, a member of a network of private physicians (REZO 85) confirmed the recent diagnosis of several cases of hepatitis A among homosexual men in Paris. An investigation into these cases was carried out by the InVS, in collaboration with REZO 85 and the tropical and infectious diseases unit at Rothschild hospital, Paris.

The September issue of the monthly bulletin Eurosurveillance, also funded by the European Commission, is now available on the internet (in English and French) at http://www.eurosurveillance.org. The contents of the September issue are as follows.