Microbiological contamination of cosmetic products - observations from Europe, 2005-2018.

BACKGROUND: Although cosmetic products are not expected to be fully aseptic, their potential microbiological contamination might be dangerous, especially for immunocompromised patients. The extent of such contamination of cosmetics in Europe is poorly studied. OBJECTIVES: The objective of this study was to explore whether microbiologically contaminated cosmetic products are available for sale in Europe and what type of contamination was reported. METHODS: We searched the European Union Rapid Information System for dangerous non-food products (Rapex), a database of non-compliant products among 31 European countries, to identify microbiologically contaminated cosmetics reported between 2005 and 2018, and present a detailed summary of these notifications. RESULTS: In the years 2005-2018, 104 reports on microbiologically contaminated cosmetics were identified. Twenty of them were products for children. The majority of the products (65.38%) were produced in Rapex member states. In most cases, contamination was caused by Gram-negative bacteria (59.62%), mostly Pseudomonas spp. (35.58%) and Enterobacter spp. (11.54%). CONCLUSIONS: Gram-negative rod-shaped bacteria are the most common microbiota contaminating cosmetic products in Europe. Most of the reported microbiologically contaminated cosmetics originated from European countries.

A systematic review of worldwide epidemiology of psoriasis.

To inform the WHO Global report on psoriasis, a new comprehensive worldwide systematic review of the epidemiology of psoriasis was undertaken. The aim of this study was to systematically review the worldwide literature regarding the epidemiology of psoriasis, including prevalence and incidence, in adults and in children. A search of 15 electronic medical databases was performed. Using a rigorous systematic protocol, eligible articles were analysed. No language, regional or temporal restrictions were applied. A total of 76 study observations met all eligibility criteria and were included in the systematic review. The estimates of the prevalence of psoriasis in adults ranged from 0.51% to 11.43%, and in children from 0% to 1.37%. Psoriasis is a common disease, occurring more frequently with advancing age. Limited data on the epidemiology of psoriasis are available. The available prevalence data come from only 20 countries, meaning there are huge geographic gaps in knowledge, especially from low- and middle-income settings.