Spatiotemporal spread of tick-borne encephalitis in the EU/EEA, 2012 to 2020.

BackgroundTick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is a vaccine-preventable disease involving the central nervous system. TBE became a notifiable disease on the EU/EEA level in 2012.AimWe aimed to provide an updated epidemiological assessment of TBE in the EU/EEA, focusing on spatiotemporal changes.MethodsWe performed a descriptive analysis of case characteristics, time and location using data of human TBE cases reported by EU/EEA countries to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control with disease onset in 2012-2020. We analysed data at EU/EEA, national, and subnational levels and calculated notification rates using Eurostat population data. Regression models were used for temporal analysis.ResultsFrom 2012 to 2020, 19 countries reported 29,974 TBE cases, of which 24,629 (98.6%) were autochthonous. Czechia, Germany and Lithuania reported 52.9% of all cases. The highest notification rates were recorded in Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia (16.2, 9.5 and 7.5 cases/100,000 population, respectively). Fifty regions from 10 countries, had a notification rate ≥ 5/100,000. There was an increasing trend in number of cases during the study period with an estimated 0.053 additional TBE cases every week. In 2020, 11.5% more TBE cases were reported than predicted based on data from 2016 to 2019. A geographical spread of cases was observed, particularly in regions situated north-west of known endemic regions.ConclusionA close monitoring of ongoing changes to the TBE epidemiological situation in Europe can support the timely adaption of vaccination recommendations. Further analyses to identify populations and geographical areas where vaccination programmes can be of benefit are needed.

Surveillance and epidemiology of Lyme borreliosis in the Czech Republic in 2018 and 2019

Lyme borreliosis (LB), the most prevalent vector-borne disease in Europe, is caused by Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex species and transmitted by the tick Ixodes ricinus. The Czech Republic is an endemic country for LB. The disease affects the skin, neurological, musculoskeletal, cardiac or ocular tissue, and the most frequent clinical manifestations are erythema migrans and Lyme neuroborreliosis. In 2018, the EU case definition of Lyme neuroborreliosis was published, and neuroborreliosis has become reportable to the European Surveillance System. In this paper, we describe the LB surveillance system and reporting of human cases in the Czech Republic. Epidemiological characteristics of Lyme borreliosis are presented for 2018 and 2019. Gaps in and limitations of the existing national LB surveillance system were identified with regard to the reporting of neuroborreliosis in accordance with the EU case definition. In the Czech Republic, LB surveillance is nationwide, comprehensive, and mandatory. Case based data on all clinical manifestations of incident LB are reported to the electronic Information System of Infectious Diseases (ISIN). In 2018 and 2019, 4724 and 4102 LB cases, i.e., 44.5 and 38.4 cases per 100,000 population, were reported to ISIN, respectively. Overall, 46.3 % of cases were male and 53.7 % were female. The highest morbidity was observed in adults 50–75 and children 5–9 years old. The most affected regions were Vysočina and Olomoucký. Nine districts recorded more than 100 cases per 100,000 population. Erythema migrans appeared in 3173 (67.2 %) and 2756 (67.2 %) patients in 2018 and 2019, respectively. In 2018, 596 (12.6 %) Lyme neuroborreliosis cases were diagnosed only on the basis of clinical manifestations while in 2019, a total of 567 (13.8 %) cases of neuroborreliosis fully meeting the EU case definition were reported. The Czech Republic is an endemic country for LB with some hotspots, similar to some central, northern and north-eastern European countries. To implement the EU neuroborreliosis surveillance in the Czech Republic, ISIN technical update, addition of required variables to it, preparation of legislation update, and training of health professionals were needed. [ FROM AUTHOR] Copyright of Biologia is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full . (Copyright applies to all s.)