Suchergebnisse

European Influenza Surveillance Network members from the contributing countries - Portugal: Raquel Guiomar, Paula Cristóvão and Pedro Pechirra (National Influenza Reference Laboratory, Infectious Diseases Department, National Institute of Health Dr Ricardo Jorge, I.P., Lisbon) and Ana Paula Rodrigues (Department of Epidemiology, National Institute of Health Dr Ricardo Jorge, I.P., Lisbon). ; Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is considered the most common pathogen causing severe lower respiratory tract infections among infants and young children. We describe the seasonality and geographical spread of RSV infection in 15 countries of the European Union and European Economic Area. We performed a retrospective descriptive study of weekly laboratory-confirmed RSV detections between weeks 40/2010 and 20/2016, in patients investigated for influenza-like illness, acute respiratory infection or following the clinician's judgment. Six countries reported 4,230 sentinel RSV laboratory diagnoses from primary care and 14 countries reported 156,188 non-sentinel laboratory diagnoses from primary care or hospitals. The median length of the RSV season based on sentinel and non-sentinel surveillance was 16 (range: 9-24) and 18 (range: 8-24) weeks, respectively. The median peak weeks for sentinel and non-sentinel detections were week 4 (range: 48 to 11) and week 4.5 (range: 49 to 17), respectively. RSV detections peaked later (r = 0.56; p = 0.0360) and seasons lasted longer with increasing latitude (r = 0.57; p = 0.0329). Our data demonstrated regular seasonality with moderate correlation between timing of the epidemic and increasing latitude of the country. This study supports the use of RSV diagnostics within influenza or other surveillance systems to monitor RSV seasonality and geographical spread. ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

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

Influenza A(H3N2) viruses predominated in Europe in 2016-17. In 2017-18 A(H3N2) and A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses co-circulated. The A(H3N2) vaccine component was the same in both seasons; while the A(H1N1)pdm09 component changed in 2017-18. In both seasons, vaccine seed A(H3N2) viruses developed adaptations/alterations during propagation in eggs, impacting antigenicity. We used the test-negative design in a multicentre primary care case-control study in 12 European countries to measure 2016-17 and 2017-18 influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) against laboratory-confirmed influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and A(H3N2) overall and by age group. During the 2017-18 season, the overall VE against influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was 59% (95% CI: 47-69). Among those aged 0-14, 15-64 and ≥65 years, VE against A(H1N1)pdm09 was 64% (95% CI: 37-79), 50% (95% CI: 28-66) and 66% (95% CI: 42-80), respectively. Overall VE against influenza A(H3N2) was 28% (95% CI: 17-38) in 2016-17 and 13% (95% CI: -15 to 34) in 2017-18. Among 0-14-year-olds VE against A(H3N2) was 28% (95%CI: -10 to 53) and 29% (95% CI: -87 to 73), among 15-64-year-olds 34% (95% CI: 18-46) and 33% (95% CI: -3 to 56) and among those aged ≥65 years 15% (95% CI: -10 to 34) and -9% (95% CI: -74 to 32) in 2016-17 and 2017-18, respectively. Our study suggests the new A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine component conferred good protection against circulating strains, while VE against A(H3N2) was <35% in 2016-17 and 2017-18. The egg propagation derived antigenic mismatch of the vaccine seed virus with circulating strains may have contributed to this low effectiveness. A(H3N2) seed viruses for vaccines in subsequent seasons may be subject to the same adaptations; in years with lower than expected VE, recommendations of preventive measures other than vaccination should be given in a timely manner. ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 634446 to conduct the study in individuals aged 65 years or more. ECDC has contributed funds for the coordination and some study sites under the Framework contract no. ECDC/2014/026 for the individuals aged less than 65 years. The WHO Regional office for Europe has contributed funds for the Romanian study site. ; Sí

I-MOVE/I-MOVE+ study team - Portugal: Verónica Gomez, Ana Paula Rodrigues, Baltazar Nunes (Departamento de Epidemiologia, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal); Pedro Pechirra, Paula Cristóvão, Patrícia Conde, Inês Costa (Departamento de Doenças Infeciosas, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge, Lisbon, Portugal). ; Background:During the 2015/16 influenza season in Europe, the co-circulating influenza viruses were A(H1N1)pdm09 and B/Victoria, which was antigenically distinct from the B/Yamagata component in the trivalent influenza vaccine. Methods:We used the test negative design in a multicentre case–control study in twelve European countries to measure 2015/16 influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) against medically-attended influenza-like illness (ILI) laboratory-confirmed as influenza. General practitioners swabbed a systematic sample of consulting ILI patients ainfluenza Vaccinend a random sample of influenza positive swabs were sequenced. We calculated adjusted VE against influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, A(H1N1)pdm09 genetic group 6B.1 and influenza B overall and by age group. Results: We included 11,430 ILI patients, of which 2272 were influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and 2901 were influenza B cases. Overall VE against influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was 32.9% (95% CI: 15.5-46.7). Among those aged 0–14, 15–64 and ≥65 years VE against A(H1N1)pdm09 was 31.9% (95% CI: -32.3-65.0), 41.4% (95%CI: 20.5-56.7) and 13.2% (95% CI: -38.0-45.3) respectively. Overall VE against influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 genetic group 6B.1 was 32.8% (95%CI: -4.1-56.7). Among those aged 0–14, 15–64 and ≥65 years VE against influenza B was -47.6% (95%CI: -124.9-3.1), 27.3% (95%CI: -4.6-49.4), and 9.3% (95%CI: -44.1-42.9) respectively. Conclusions: VE against influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and its genetic group 6B.1 was moderate in children and adults, and low among individuals ≥65 years. VE against influenza B was low and heterogeneous among age groups. More information on effects of previous vaccination and previous infection are needed to understand the VE results against influenza B in the context of a mismatched vaccine. ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 634446 to conduct the study in individuals aged 65 years or more. Framework contract No ECDC/2014/026 ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Free PMC Article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6086844/ ; I‐MOVE primary care multicentre case‐control team - Portugal: Baltazar Nunes, Ausenda Machado, Ana Paula Rodrigues, Verónica Gomez (Departamento de Epidemiologia, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge); Raquel Guiomar, Pedro Pechirra, Paula Cristóvão, Patrícia Conde, Inês Costa (Departamento de Doenças Infeciosas, Instituto Nacional de Saúde Dr. Ricardo Jorge) ; BACKGROUND: Results of previous influenza vaccination effects on current season influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) are inconsistent. OBJECTIVES: To explore previous influenza vaccination effects on current season VE among population targeted for vaccination. METHODS: We used 2011/2012 to 2016/2017 I-MOVE primary care multicentre test-negative data. For each season, we compared current season adjusted VE (aVE) between individuals vaccinated and unvaccinated in previous season. Using unvaccinated in both seasons as a reference, we then compared aVE between vaccinated in both seasons, current only, and previous only. RESULTS: We included 941, 2645 and 959 influenza-like illness patients positive for influenza A(H1N1)pdm09, A(H3N2) and B, respectively, and 5532 controls. In 2011/2012, 2014/2015 and 2016/2017, A(H3N2) aVE point estimates among those vaccinated in previous season were -68%, -21% and -19%, respectively; among unvaccinated in previous season, these were 33%, 48% and 46%, respectively (aVE not computable for influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and B). Compared to current season vaccination only, VE for both seasons' vaccination was (i) similar in two of four seasons for A(H3N2) (absolute difference [ad] 6% and 8%); (ii) lower in three of four seasons for influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 (ad 18%, 26% and 29%), in two seasons for influenza A(H3N2) (ad 27% and 39%) and in two of three seasons for influenza B (ad 26% and 37%); (iii) higher in one season for influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 (ad 20%) and influenza B (ad 24%). CONCLUSIONS: We did not identify any pattern of previous influenza vaccination effect. Prospective cohort studies documenting influenza infections, vaccinations and vaccine types are needed to understand previous influenza vaccinations' effects. ; European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Grant Number: ECDC/2014/026 European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Grant Number: 634446 WHO‐EURO ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Free PMC article: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6807025/pdf/main.pdf ; Introduction: Influenza A(H3N2) viruses predominated in Europe in 2016–17. In 2017–18 A(H3N2) and A(H1N1)pdm09 viruses co-circulated. The A(H3N2) vaccine component was the same in both seasons; while the A(H1N1)pdm09 component changed in 2017–18. In both seasons, vaccine seed A(H3N2) viruses developed adaptations/alterations during propagation in eggs, impacting antigenicity. Methods: We used the test-negative design in a multicentre primary care case-control study in 12 European countries to measure 2016–17 and 2017–18 influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) against laboratory-confirmed influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and A(H3N2) overall and by age group. Results: During the 2017–18 season, the overall VE against influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 was 59% (95% CI: 47–69). Among those aged 0–14, 15–64 and ≥65 years, VE against A(H1N1)pdm09 was 64% (95% CI: 37–79), 50% (95% CI: 28–66) and 66% (95% CI: 42–80), respectively. Overall VE against influenza A(H3N2) was 28% (95% CI: 17–38) in 2016–17 and 13% (95% CI: -15 to 34) in 2017–18. Among 0–14-year-olds VE against A(H3N2) was 28% (95%CI: -10 to 53) and 29% (95% CI: -87 to 73), among 15–64-year-olds 34% (95% CI: 18–46) and 33% (95% CI: -3 to 56) and among those aged ≥65 years 15% (95% CI: -10 to 34) and -9% (95% CI: -74 to 32) in 2016–17 and 2017–18, respectively. Conclusions: Our study suggests the new A(H1N1)pdm09 vaccine component conferred good protection against circulating strains, while VE against A(H3N2) was <35% in 2016–17 and 2017–18. The egg propagation derived antigenic mismatch of the vaccine seed virus with circulating strains may have contributed to this low effectiveness. A(H3N2) seed viruses for vaccines in subsequent seasons may be subject to the same adaptations; in years with lower than expected VE, recommendations of preventive measures other than vaccination should be given in a timely manner. ; This project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 634446 to conduct the study in individuals aged 65 years or more. ECDC has contributed funds for the coordination and some study sites under the Framework contract no. ECDC/2014/026 for the individuals aged less than 65 years. The WHO Regional office for Europe has contributed funds for the Romanian study site ; info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion