Suchergebnisse

Italy introduced a national law extending the number of compulsory vaccines from four to 10 in July 2017. The implementation placed a further burden on immunisation centres as they were required to cover the increased demand of vaccination by the parents of unvaccinated children. Vaccine coverage (VC) estimated 6 months and 1 year later, at 24 and 30 months (same birth cohort), had increased for all vaccines. At 24 months of age, measles VC increased from 87.3% in 2016 to 91.8% in 2017 and 94.1% at 30 months of age as at June 2018. In six of 21 regions and autonomous provinces, VC for measles was >95%. Despite the implementation of this law, vaccine hesitancy is still a problem in Italy and the political and social debate on mandatory vaccination is ongoing. Regardless of the policy to be adopted in the future, strategies to maintain high vaccination rates and the related herd immunity should be considered, including adequate communication to the population and the implementation of electronic immunisation registries.

Background. In recent years, Italy has seen a constant upward trend in the practice of tattooing. The Italian National Health Institute has conducted a national survey to determine the prevalence of tattooed people in Italy and to study related features of the phenomenon. Aim. Establish the prevalence and characteristics of the tattooed population and evaluate awareness of the risks associated with tattoos, which can contribute to consumer health protection. Methods. Computer-assisted telephone interviews and computer-assisted web interviews were completed by a sample of the general population; 7608 people aged between 12 and 75+. Results. The prevalence of tattooed people was 12.8% of the general population in Italy (95% CI: 12.05%-13.55%), equivalent to an estimated 6 900 000 tattooed individuals. Tattoos were more prevalent among women, at 13.8%, while tattooed men accounted for 11.8%. The vast majority of tattooed subjects had decorative tattoos of small dimensions, with a higher prevalence of monochromatic tattoos. Only a minority of tattooed participants reported having cosmetic tattoos (3.0%) or medical tattoos (0.5%). According to the data, 3.3% of tattooed subjects claimed complications or reactions; of these, only 21.3% consulted a dermatologist/general practitioner; more than half (51.3%) did not consult anyone. In general, only 58.2% of the sample were aware of health risks. The Italian survey showed that 36.7% of all tattoos had been performed in the last five years prior to the interview. Conclusions. The estimated prevalence of tattoos in Italy is in agreement with the statistics of the European Union. The prevalence in the age group 35-44 years is almost double that of the Italian population and it is higher in women than in men. Tattooing is relevant to public health. The high number of tattooed Italians, the potential long-term effects on health and the reported complications call for the awareness of health authorities. Appropriate intervention should ensure safer tattooing by reinforcing the training of tattooists, by improving surveillance and by providing information to raise public awareness of the risks and contraindications of tattooing.

Tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is an acute disease of the central nervous system caused by a virus from the Flaviviridae family. The infection, caused by one of the subtypes of TBE virus circulating in Europe, usually progresses biphasically. The first (viremic) phase often is asymptomatic or cause influenza like symptoms. Only about one third of cases progress to the second phase. The disease may present as meningitis, encephalitis, meningoencephalitis, meningoencephalomyelitis or can cause other clinical syndromes. Sequelae are reported in 35-58% of patients. There is no curative treatment for TBE. The only successful method of prevention is active immunization. The first vaccine against TBE was produced in 1937. It was the first vaccine against Flavivirus and the third vaccine against viruses in the world. In Europe two highly effective and safe vaccines are used in preventing TBE infection and its chronic consequences. They typically need three doses of primary immunization at 0-1-6 months, and booster doses every 3-5 years. In spite of presence of effective vaccine, the TBE is growing a public health problem in Central and Northern Europe. From 1974 to 2003 a 400% increase was observed in TBE morbidity in Europe. Each year about 3000 clinical cases are reported in Europe. The aim of the study was to evaluate TBE vaccination strategies and outline localization and modalities of ascertainment of TBE endemic areas in the EU/EFTA countries. The specific objectives of the study were: · Assess TBE incidence data available in countries, · Characterize surveillance systems for TBE in particular countries, · Describe existing information on TBE endemic areas, and methods of their ascertainment; · Summarize vaccination recommendations in particular countries; · Summarize methods used for immunization coverage assessment. ; peer-reviewed

To access publisher's full text version of this article, please click on the hyperlink in Additional Links field or click on the hyperlink at the top of the page marked Download ; Investments to reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the European Union have been made, including efforts to strengthen prudent antimicrobial use. Using segmented regression, we report decreasing and stabilising trends in data reported to the European Surveillance of Antimicrobial Consumption Network and stabilising trends in data reported to the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network. Our results could be an early indication of the effect of prioritising AMR on the public health agenda. ; El Plan Nacional de Investigacion Cientifica, Desarrollo e Innovacion Tecnologica 2013-2016 Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Subdireccion General de Redes y Centros de Investigacion Cooperativa, Ministerio de Economia, Industria y Competitividad, Spanish Network for Research in Infectious Diseases European Development Regional Fund "A way to achieve Europe", Operative program Intelligent Growth 2014-2020 Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC)