[Epidemiology of childhood tuberculosis in Spain: 2005-2009]. / Epidemiología de la tuberculosis pediátrica en España, 2005-2009.

BACKGROUND: European recent data about paediatric tuberculosis point out the importance of evaluate the trends of the disease to study the recent transmission, as well as the necessity of improving the microbiological diagnosis in paediatric cases. The aim of this paper is to study the epidemiology and trend evolution of paediatric tuberculosis in Spain during the period 2005-2009 and to establish the epidemiological differences between adult and paediatric tuberculosis. METHODS: Data reported to the National Surveillance Net (Red Nacional de Vigilancia Epidemiológica) in Spain was checked. Lineal regression was developed to establish the trend of the disease in all, adult and paediatric cases. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to compare paediatric and adult cases reported in 2009 and estimate the influence of different factors in the development of the disease. RESULTS: A total 39775, 2690 paediatrics (6.76%) cases of tuberculosis were reported during 2005-2009 period. Paediatric tuberculosis rates showed a slight increasing tendency (y=0.15x+7.8), while adult rates decrease during the period (y=-0.28x+20.2). In 2009, rates were 8.1 and 18.3 cases/100,000 inhab. for children and adults respectively. Paediatric cases presented higher proportion of pulmonary locations (84% vs. 76% in adults) and lower percentages of cases confirmed by culture (51% vs. 82% in adults) and of cases in non-Spanish population (25% vs. 34%). CONCLUSIONS: Paediatric tuberculosis rates showed a slight increasing tendency, while global and adult rates decrease slightly during the period. Tuberculosis disease shows different epidemiology in children and adults, what it is important to take into account to design public heh interventions.

Epidemiología de la tuberculosis pediátrica en España, 2005-2009 / Epidemiology of childhood tuberculosis in Spain: 2005-2009

Fundamentos: Los últimos datos europeos sobre tuberculosis pediátrica señalan la utilidad de evaluar las tendencias para estudiar la transmisión así como la necesidad de mejorar el diagnóstico microbiológico en estas edades. El objetivo es estudiar la epidemiología de la tuberculosis pediátrica en España, su evolución durante el periodo 2005- 2009, y las diferencias respecto con la epidemiología de los adultos. Métodos: Se utilizaron los datos de la declaración individualizada de tuberculosis a la Red Nacional de Vigilancia Epidemiológica en 2005-2009. Se estudió la tendencia de las tasas en niños y adultos mediante modelos de regresión lineal. Para estudiar los riesgos asociados a la tuberculosis en niños en relación a la de los adultos, se realizó un análisis bivariado y otro multivariado por regresión logística, empleando los datos de 2009. Resultados: En el periodo de estudio se declararon 39.775 casos de tuberculosis, 2.690 de ellos pediátricos (6,76%). La tendencia en las tasas de tuberculosis fue ascendente para la edad pediátrica (y=0,15x+7,8) y descendente para los adultos (y=-0,28x+20,2). En 2009 las tasas fueron 8,1 casos/100.000 en niños y 18,3/100.000 en adultos. Se encontró en niños una mayor proporción de localizaciones pulmonares (84% frente a 76%), menor porcentaje de confirmaciones por cultivo (51% frente a 82%) y de casos extranjeros (25% frente a 34%). Conclusiones: En el periodo de estudio las tasas de tuberculosis pediátrica mostraron una tendencia ligeramente ascendente, mientras que las tasas globales y en adultos la tuvieron descendente . La tuberculosis muestra escenarios diferentes en niños y adultos, lo que hay que tener en cuenta para dirigir las acciones de salud pública(AU)

Background: European recent data about paediatric tuberculosis point out the importance of evaluate the trends of the disease to study the recent transmission, as well as the necessity of improving the microbiological diagnosis in paediatric cases. The aim of this paper is to study the epidemiology and trend evolution of paediatric tuberculosis in Spain during the period 2005-2009 and to establish the epidemiological differences between adult and paediatric tuberculosis. Methods: Data reported to the National Surveillance Net (Red Nacional de Vigilancia Epidemiológica) in Spain was checked. Lineal regression was developed to establish the trend of the disease in all, adult and paediatric cases. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression was used to compare paediatric and adult cases reported in 2009 and estimate the influence of different factors in the development of the disease. Results: A total 39775, 2690 paediatrics (6.76%) cases of tuberculosis were reported during 2005-2009 period. Paediatric tuberculosis rates showed a slight increasing tendency (y=0.15x+7.8), while adult rates decrease during the period (y=-0.28x+20.2). In 2009, rates were 8.1 and 18.3 cases/100,000 inhab. for children and adults respectively. Paediatric cases presented higher proportion of pulmonary locations (84% vs. 76% in adults) and lower percentages of cases confirmed by culture (51% vs. 82% in adults) and of cases in non-Spanish population (25% vs. 34%). Conclusions: Paediatric tuberculosis rates showed a slight increasing tendency, while global and adult rates decrease slightly during the period. Tuberculosis disease shows different epidemiology in children and adults, what it is important to take into account to design public health interventions(AU)

A quarterly update on food- and waterborne diseases in Europe--summary of data for the third quarter of 2007.

This paper highlights findings from the first quarterly report on food- and waterborne diseases produced by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). In the past such reports had been generated by Enter-net, a Europe-based international surveillance network for the enteric infections. The quarterly reports are an important surveillance tool for the network participants and other public health professionals to use in order to identify emerging trends and changes taking place in a shorter interval than one year.

Comparison of the European Union Disease Surveillance Networks' websites.

Currently the surveillance of infectious disease in the European Union (EU) is supported by the Basic Surveillance Network (BSN) and other disease specific surveillance networks (DSNs). Each network has its own website. The objective of the current study was to describe the information presented with public access on each website from the perspective of its usefulness for the surveillance of an EU member state. The BSN and the DSNs cited in Decision 2003/542/CE were included. Each website was reviewed and assessed on the inclusion of characteristics from three broad categories: 1) general information, 2) procedures for data collection and 3) data presentation. Ten surveillance network websites were reviewed during the week of 5 December 2005. At least 80% of the 10 networks included a list of participating countries, the contact addresses for the coordinator of the network and the participating country gatekeepers and the network and #39;s objectives. Only one network specified the source and coverage of the data of each country on its website, and seven presented the disease case definition. Raw data were shown on eight websites and only two networks included presentation of elaborated data for the whole of the EU. Four networks included no reports on their websites. The periodicity of presentation for both raw data and elaborated data varied greatly between networks. The publicly available information on the 10 network websites studied was not homogeneous. We recommend that all networks present a basic set of characteristics on their websites, including case definitions, procedures used for data collection and periodic reports covering elaborated data for the entire EU.

Condiciones precarias para el control de la epidemia del VIH / Precarious conditions for controlling the HIV epidemic

No disponible

Climate variability and campylobacter infection: an international study.

Campylobacter is among the most important agents of enteritis in developed countries. We have described the potential environmental determinants of the seasonal pattern of infection with campylobacter in Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Specifically, we investigated the role of climate variability on laboratory-confirmed cases of campylobacter infection from 15 populations. Regression analysis was used to quantify the associations between timing of seasonal peaks in infection in space and time. The short-term association between weekly weather and cases was also investigated using Poisson regression adapted for time series data. All countries in our study showed a distinct seasonality in campylobacter transmission, with many, but not all, populations showing a peak in spring. Countries with milder winters have peaks of infection earlier in the year. The timing of the peak of infection is weakly associated with high temperatures 3 months previously. Weekly variation in campylobacter infection in one region of the UK appeared to be little affected by short-term changes in weather patterns. The geographical variation in the timing of the seasonal peak suggests that climate may be a contributing factor to campylobacter transmission. The main driver of seasonality of campylobacter remains elusive and underscores the need to identify the major serotypes and routes of transmission for this disease.