Eurosurveillance
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In Saudi Arabia, including regions of Riyadh and Al Ahsa, pseudoparticle neutralisation (ppNT) and microneutralisation (MNT) tests detected no antibodies to Middle East Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in sheep (n= 100), goats (n= 45), cattle (n= 50) and chickens (n= 240). Dromedary camels however, had a high prevalence of MERS-CoV antibodies. Bovine coronavirus (BCoV) infected sera from cattle had no cross-reactivity in MERS-CoV ppNT or MNT, while many dromedary camels’ sera reacted to both BCoV and MERS-CoV. Some nevertheless displayed specific serologic reaction profiles to MERS-CoV.
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Since June 2012, 133 Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) cases have been identified in nine countries. Two time periods in 2013 were compared to identify changes in the epidemiology. The case-fatality risk (CFR) is 45% and is decreasing. ⋯ Thirteen out of 14 known primary cases died. The sex-ratio is more balanced in the latter period. Nosocomial transmission was implied in 26% of the cases.
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In February 2013, novel coronavirus (nCoV) infection was diagnosed in an adult male in the United Kingdom with severe respiratory illness, who had travelled to Pakistan and Saudi Arabia 10 days before symptom onset. Contact tracing identified two secondary cases among family members without recent travel: one developed severe respiratory illness and died, the other an influenza-like illness. No other severe cases were identified or nCoV detected in respiratory samples among 135 contacts followed for 10 days.
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Review
Overview of molecular typing methods for outbreak detection and epidemiological surveillance.
Typing methods for discriminating different bacterial isolates of the same species are essential epidemiological tools in infection prevention and control. Traditional typing systems based on phenotypes, such as serotype, biotype, phage-type, or antibiogram, have been used for many years. However, more recent methods that examine the relatedness of isolates at a molecular level have revolutionised our ability to differentiate among bacterial types and subtypes. ⋯ Also, a largely unresolved question is how genome sequences must be examined for epidemiological characterisation. In the coming years, the lessons learnt from currently used molecular methods will allow us to condense the WGS data into epidemiologically useful information. On this basis, we have reviewed current and new molecular typing methods for outbreak detection and epidemiological surveillance of bacterial pathogens in clinical practice, aiming to give an overview of their specific advantages and disadvantages.
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This study evaluates the influenza vaccine effectiveness (VE) in preventing laboratory-confirmed cases in Navarre, Spain, in the 2011/12 season in which the peak was delayed until week 7 of 2012. We conducted a test-negative case–control study. Patients with influenza-like illness in hospitals and primary healthcare were swabbed for testing by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction. ⋯ The VE was 61% (95% CI: 5 to 84) in the first 100 days after vaccination, 42% (95% CI: -39 to 75) between 100 and 119 days, and zero thereafter. This decline mainly affected people aged 65 or over. These results suggest a low preventive effect of the 2011/12 seasonal influenza vaccine, and a decline in VE with time since vaccination.