Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever (CCHF) is a widespread tick-borne viral disease caused by the Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV). CCHFV has been implicated in severe viral haemorrhagic ...fever outbreaks. During the summer of 2016, the first two cases with genotype III (Africa 3) were reported in Spain. The first objective of our study was to determine the presence of CCHFV among patients with febrile illness during the spring and summer periods in 2017 and 2018. Finally, we perform a phylogenetic analysis to determine the genotype of the virus.
We prospectively evaluated patients aged 18 years and older who came to the emergency department at the Salamanca's University Hospital (HUS) with fever. Specific IgM and IgG antibodies against CCHFV by ELISA and one immunofluorescence assay against two different proteins (nucleoprotein and glycoprotein C) was done. Moreover, molecular detection by Real Time PCR was performed in all collected samples. A phylogenetic analysis was carried out to genetically characterize CCHFV detected in this study.
A total of 133 patients were selected. The mean age was 67.63 years and 60.9% were male. One-third of the patients presented an acute undifferentiated febrile illness. Three patients had anti-CCHFV IgG antibodies, suggesting a previous infection. One patient had anti-CCHFV IgM antibodies and a confirmatory RT-PCR. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the virus corresponds to the European genotype V. This patient came to the emergency department at HUS in August 2018 presenting an acute febrile syndrome with thrombopenia and liver impairment.
We describe a new circulation of European genotype V CCHFV in Spain. Moreover, this study suggests that CCHFV is an identifiable cause of febrile illness of unknown origin in Spain. Thus, CCHF could be suspected in patients with fever, liver damage, and/or haemorrhagic disorders, particularly in people with risk activities who present in the spring or summer.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
The MMR vaccination program was introduced in Spain in 1981. Consistently high vaccination coverage has led to Spain being declared free of endemic measles transmission since 2014. A few imported and ...import-related cases were reported during the post-elimination phase (2014 to 2020), with very low incidence: three cases per million of inhabitants a year, 70% in adults. In the post-elimination phase an increasing proportion of measles appeared in two-dose vaccinated individuals (up to 14%), posing a challenge to surveillance and laboratory investigations. Severity and clinical presentation were milder among the vaccinated. The IgM response varied and the viral load decreased, making the virus more difficult to detect. A valid set of samples (serum, urine and throat swab) is strongly recommended for accurate case classification. One third of measles in fully vaccinated people was contracted in healthcare settings, mainly in doctors and nurses, consistent with the important role of high intensity exposure in measles breakthrough cases. Surveillance protocols and laboratory algorithms should be adapted in advanced elimination settings. Reinforcing the immunity of people working in high exposure environments, such as healthcare settings, and implementing additional infection control measures, such as masking and social distancing, are becoming crucial for the global aim of measles eradication.
In the context of measles elimination, the identification of recent infections is important for clinical laboratories. Serological diagnosis is achieved by detecting specific IgG and IgM. Recently an ...automated chemiluminescent immunoassay (CLIA) (Liaison, DiaSorin, Italy) has been used to quantify the measles antibody. The aim of this study was to compare this assay with Enzygnost ELISA (Siemens, Germany), with final classification of discrepancies by indirect immunofluorescence (Euroimmun, Germany). For measles IgM, 204 sera were analyzed: 50 IgM‐positive, 104 IgM‐negative/IgG‐positive, and 50 from other viral infections (B19V, rubella, mumps, CMV, and EBV). For the measles IgG assay, 162 samples were tested: 106 were positive and 56 were negative. For measles IgM, the sensitivity and specificity of CLIA against ELISA were 94% (95% CI: 83.2–98.6) and 100% (95% CI: 97.1–100), respectively; the corrected figures after the final classification of discrepancies were 100% (95% CI: 91.0–100) and 99.4% (95% CI: 96.1–100), respectively. In relation to IgG, the sensitivity and specificity of CLIA against ELISA were, respectively, 97.2% (95% CI: 91.7–99.4) and 92.9% (95% CI: 82.5–97.7), and 95.5% (95% CI: 89.5–98.3) and 100% (95% CI: 91.8–100) after the final classification. CLIA showed excellent sensitivity and specificity in detecting measles IgG and IgM antibodies, eliminating the need to aliquot specimens before carrying out the assay.
Dengue virus (DENV) circulates in human and sylvatic cycles. Sylvatic strains are both ecologically and evolutionarily distinct from endemic viruses. Although sylvatic dengue cycles occur in West ...African countries and Malaysia, only a few cases of mild human disease caused by sylvatic strains and one single case of dengue hemorrhagic fever in Malaysia have been reported. Here we report a case of dengue hemorrhagic fever (DHF) with thrombocytopenia (13000/µl), a raised hematocrit (32% above baseline) and mucosal bleeding in a 27-year-old male returning to Spain in November 2009 after visiting his home country Guinea Bissau. Sylvatic DENV-2 West African lineage was isolated from blood and sera. This is the first case of DHF associated with sylvatic DENV-2 in Africa and the second case worldwide of DHF caused by a sylvatic strain.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
BackgroundCrimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is considered an emerging or even a probable re-emerging pathogen in southern Europe. Presence of this virus had been reported previously in ...Spain in 2010.AimWe aimed to evaluate the potential circulation of CCHFV in western Spain with a serosurvey in asymptomatic adults (blood donors).MethodsDuring 2017 and 2018, we conducted a CCHFV serosurvey in randomly selected asymptomatic blood donors from western Spain. Three assays using specific IgG antibodies against CCHFV were performed: the VectoCrimea ELISA test, an in-house ELISA and indirect immunofluorescence (EuroImmun) test with glycoprotein and nucleoprotein.ResultsA total of 516 blood donors participated in this cross-sectional study. The majority of the study participants were male (68.4%), and the mean age was 46.3 years. Most of the participants came from rural areas (86.8%) and 68.6% had contact with animals and 20.9% had animal husbandry practices. One in five participants (109/516, 21.1%) were engaged in at-risk professional activities such as agriculture and shepherding, slaughtering, hunting, veterinary and healthcare work (mainly nursing staff and laboratory technicians). A total of 15.3% of the participants were bitten by ticks in the days or months before the date of sampling. We detected anti-CCHFV IgG antibodies with two diagnostic assays in three of the 516 individuals and with one diagnostic assay in six of the 516 individuals.ConclusionSeroprevalence of CCHFV was between 0.58% and 1.16% in Castile-León, Spain. This is the first study in western Spain that showed circulation of CCHFV in healthy people.
The National Plan for the Elimination of Rubella was implemented in Spain in 2008 using the logistics of the National Plan for the Elimination of Measles that have been employed since year 2000. ...Molecular characterization of rubella virus (RUBV) is important for disease surveillance and for monitoring elimination of the disease throughout the world. We describe the first complete series of data regarding the circulation of RUBV genotypes in Spain. The 739-nucleotide fragment designated by the WHO for RUBV genotyping was sequenced in 88 selected cases collected from 1998 to 2014. Five genotypes were identified: 1E, 2B, 1J, 1I, and 1a. Genotype 1E was predominant between 1998 and 2003 but was replaced by genotype 2B, which was detected in sporadic cases in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2012, 2013 and 2014. There was an outbreak of genotype 2B in Algeciras (Andalusia) in 2008. Genotype 1J caused an outbreak in Madrid in 2004/2005 and sporadic cases in 2005 and 2007. Genotype 1I was found to have infected an immune-suppressed patient with neurological symptoms in 2008. Finally, vaccine strain RA 27/3 was detected in three sporadic cases, two of them immune-suppressed and without a recent history of vaccination. This suggests that during these years there were a series of imported sporadic cases and outbreaks, confirming the findings of epidemiological data analysis. The importation sources were generally consistent with our geographic and cultural ties, mainly with Europe (genotypes 1E, 2B, 1I) and Latin America (1J).
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
In August 2018, a fatal autochthonous case of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever was confirmed in western Spain. The complete sequence of the viral genome revealed circulation of a new virus because the ...genotype differs from that of the virus responsible for another case in 2016. Practitioners should be alert to possible new cases.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, ODKLJ, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
To evaluate age-specific measles susceptibility in Australia and 17 European countries.
As part of the European Sero-Epidemiology Network 2 (ESEN2), 18 countries collected large national serum banks ...between 1996 and 2004. These banks were tested for measles IgG and the results converted to a common unitage to enable valid intercountry comparisons. Historical vaccination and disease incidence data were also collected. Age-stratified population susceptibility levels were compared to WHO European Region targets for measles elimination of < 15% in those aged 2-4 years, < 10% in 5-9-year-olds and < 5% in older age groups.
Seven countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, Spain, Slovakia, Slovenia and Sweden) met or came very close to the elimination targets. Four countries (Australia, Israel, Lithuania and Malta) had susceptibility levels above WHO targets in some older age groups indicating possible gaps in protection. Seven countries (Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, England and Wales, Ireland, Latvia and Romania) were deemed to be at risk of epidemics as a result of high susceptibility in children and also, in some cases, adults.
Although all countries now implement a two-dose measles vaccination schedule, if the WHO European Region target of measles elimination by 2010 is to be achieved higher routine coverage as well as vaccination campaigns in some older age cohorts are needed in some countries. Without these improvements, continued measles transmission and outbreaks are expected in Europe.
In recent decades, vaccination has substantially reduced the number of measles cases to levels close to the elimination stage. However, major measles outbreaks occurred in Europe during 2010-2012, ...after the introduction of the D4-Enfield lineage. We have performed a molecular characterization of 75 measles virus genotype D4 strains from patients infected in Spain between 2004 and 2012 by sequencing the N-450 region and the M-F non-coding region (M-F NCR) in order to identify genetic features of these viruses. The analysis of the N-450 region confirmed that all samples obtained since 2008 belonged to variants or sets of identical sequences of the D4-Enfield lineage, including a new one named MVs/Madrid.ESP/46.10/. Analysis of the M-F NCR showed insertions and deletions associated with previously described, uncommon non-standard genome length measles viruses. This genetic feature was identified in the D4-Enfield lineage viruses, but not in the other D4 viruses that were circulating in Spain before 2008, suggesting that these non-standard length M-F NCR sequences are characteristic of the D4-Enfield lineage. The results of the phylogenetic analysis of Spanish M-F NCRs suggest higher resolution in discriminating strains than did the N-450 analysis. In addition, the results of the analysis of the M-F NCR on the MVs/Madrid.ESP/46.10/ sub-lineage seem to support the potential utility of this region as a tool for epidemiological surveillance complementary to the N-450 region, as previously suggested. Further investigation on this question, as well as the surveillance of new potentially emerging strains with non-standard length M-F NCR are strongly recommended as part of future strategies for measles elimination.
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DOBA, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
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