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Eurosurveillance
Since 1995, Eurosurveillance has provided the European public health community with an open-access platform to exchange relevant findings on communicable disease surveillance, prevention and control. A weekly, electronic, peer-reviewed publication, Eurosurveillance aims to provide timely facts and guidance for public health professionals and decision-makers in the field of infectious disease to facilitate the implementation of effective prevention and control measures. Impact factor: 19. More...
Latest Issue: Volume 29, Issue 19, 09 May 2024 Latest Issue RSS feed
- Outbreaks
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Outbreak of Listeria monocytogenes in hospital linked to a fava bean product, Finland, 2015 to 2019
Listeria monocytogenes (Lm) is a bacterium widely distributed in the environment. Listeriosis is a severe disease associated with high hospitalisation and mortality rates. In April 2019, listeriosis was diagnosed in two hospital patients in Finland. We conducted a descriptive study to identify the source of the infection and defined a case as a person with a laboratory-confirmed Lm serogroup IIa sequence type (ST) 37. Six cases with Lm ST 37 were notified to the Finnish Infectious Diseases Registry between 2015 and 2019. Patient interviews and hospital menus were used to target traceback investigation of the implicated foods. In 2021 and 2022, similar Lm ST 37 was detected from samples of a ready-to-eat plant-based food product including fava beans. Inspections by the manufacturer and the local food control authority indicated that the food products were contaminated with Lm after pasteurisation. Our investigation highlights the importance that companies producing plant-based food are subject to similar controls as those producing food of animal origin. Hospital menus can be a useful source of information that is not dependent on patient recall.
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- Surveillance
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Anorectal lymphogranuloma venereum among men who have sex with men: a 3-year nationwide survey, France, 2020 to 2022
BackgroundIn France, lymphogranuloma venereum (LGV) testing switched from universal to selective testing in 2016.
AimTo investigate changes in LGV-affected populations, we performed a nationwide survey based on temporarily reinstated universal LGV testing from 2020 to 2022.
MethodsEach year, during three consecutive months, laboratories voluntarily sent anorectal Chlamydia trachomatis-positive samples from men and women to the National Reference Centre for bacterial sexually transmitted infections. We collected patients’ demographic, clinical and biological data. Genovars L of C. trachomatis were detected using real-time PCR. In LGV-positive samples, the ompA gene was sequenced.
ResultsIn 2020, LGV positivity was 12.7% (146/1,147), 15.2% (138/907) in 2021 and 13.3% (151/1,137) in 2022 (p > 0.05). It occurred predominantly in men who have sex with men (MSM), with rare cases among transgender women. The proportion of HIV-negative individuals was higher than that of those living with HIV. Asymptomatic rectal LGV increased from 36.1% (44/122) in 2020 to 52.4% (66/126) in 2022 (p = 0.03). Among users of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), LGV positivity was 13.8% (49/354) in 2020, 15.6% (38/244) in 2021 and 10.9% (36/331) in 2022, and up to 50% reported no anorectal symptoms. Diversity of the LGV ompA genotypes in the Paris region increased during the survey period. An unexpectedly high number of ompA genotype L1 variant was reported in 2022.
ConclusionIn rectal samples from MSM in France, LGV positivity was stable, but the proportion of asymptomatic cases increased in 2022. This underscores the need of universal LGV testing and the importance of continuous surveillance.
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- Research
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Emergence and spread of a mupirocin-resistant variant of the European epidemic fusidic acid-resistant impetigo clone of Staphylococcus aureus, Belgium, 2013 to 2023
BackgroundAntimicrobial resistance to mupirocin and fusidic acid, which are used for treatment of skin infections caused by Staphylococcus aureus, is of concern.
AimTo investigate resistance to fusidic acid and mupirocin in meticillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) from community-acquired skin and soft tissue infections (SSTIs) in Belgium.
MethodsWe collected 2013–2023 data on fusidic acid and mupirocin resistance in SSTI-associated MSSA from two large Belgian laboratories. Resistant MSSA isolates sent to the Belgian Staphylococci Reference Centre were spa-typed and analysed for the presence of the eta and etb virulence genes and the mupA resistance gene. In addition, we whole genome sequenced MSSA isolates collected between October 2021 and September 2023.
ResultsMupirocin resistance increased between 2013 and 2023 from 0.5-1.5% to 1.7-5.6%. Between 2018 and 2023, 91.4% (64/70) of mupirocin-resistant isolates were co-resistant to fusidic acid. By September 2023, between 8.9% (15/168) and 10.1% (11/109) of children isolates from the two laboratories were co-resistant. Of the 33 sequenced isolates, 29 were sequence type 121, clonal and more distantly related to the European epidemic fusidic acid-resistant impetigo clone (EEFIC) observed in Belgium in 2020. These isolates carried the mupA and fusB genes conferring resistance to mupirocin and fusidic acid, respectively, and the eta and etb virulence genes.
ConclusionWe highlight the spread of a mupirocin-resistant EEFIC in children, with a seasonal trend for the third quarter of the year. This is of concern because this variant is resistant to the two main topical antibiotics used to treat impetigo in Belgium.
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- Letter
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Recent articles
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The first confirmed human case of rabies, Timor-Leste, 2024
Marcelo Amaral Mali , Filipe de Neri Machado , Filomeno Pinto Moniz , Frederico Bosco Alves dos Santos , Perpetua Ana Mery Estela Laot , Ari Jayanti Pereira Tilman , Tanizio Ebryes Florindo , Cristovao de Alexandria Barros , Adriano Barbosa , Jose A Oliveira Lima , Joao Paulo Goncalves , Francisco Borges , Elisabeth Hornay , Joanico Moises , Osmenia de Jesus Neto , Liliana Varela , Agapito da Costa , Anthony DK Draper , Joshua R Francis and Merita Antonio A Monteiro
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