Eurosurveillance
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On 16 April 2011, a working group of World Health Organization (WHO) member states agreed on a pandemic influenza preparedness framework. It regulates the sharing of viruses within the WHO Laboratory Global Influenza Surveillance Network (GISN) and the access to vaccines, antiviral drugs, diagnostic kits, and other benefits, in particular with regard to lower-income countries. It foresees mandatory regular contributions from industry partners. ⋯ The agreed framework will be presented to the World Health Assembly in May 2011 for its consideration and approval. The agreement will strengthen global preparedness for potential future influenza pandemics. More detailed background information and a comment on the implications of this achievement has been published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
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We report the fatal case of acute melioidosis in a patient returning from Martinique with fever in November 2010. Gram-negative rods were isolated from a blood culture and Burkholderia pseudomallei identified within 24 hours after first medical contact. The patient died two days after admission to hospital despite intravenous therapy with high doses of imipenem/cilastatin and intensive care. Clinicians seeing travellers returning from the subtropics or tropics with severe pneumonia or septicaemia should consider the possibility of acute melioidosis.
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The first case of carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae in Italy was reported in 2009. We performed a study over a period of seven months in 2010 to survey the circulation of Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemases (KPC) ina 1,500-bed university hospital in northern Italy and report the presence and rapid increase of these multidrug-resistant bacteria. The results raise a major concern about these pathogens and demonstrate the urgent need for infection control and antibiotic stewardship programmes.