Infokiri

October 2024

STI, Blood-Borne Viruses and TB (SBT) section newsletter

Greetings

Welcome to the thirteenth edition of our newsletter, aimed at keeping you informed of what we’ve been doing and what’s been happening in the areas of HIV/AIDS, hepatitis, substances of human origin (SoHO), sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and tuberculosis (TB). Please forward the newsletter to others within your organisation or networks: to subscribe, send an email to [email protected] with the subject ‘Subscribe to SBT section newsletter’.

Recently published

A systematic review of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis, and syphilis prevalence in Europe

This systematic review aimed to identify and collate prevalence estimates for the European general population and populations of special interest for the four curable STIs: chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis and syphilis.  It concluded that significant gaps in both the quantity and the quality of the evidence on the prevalence of curable STIs in the European region identified in this review should be addressed in future studies.

Euro-GASP external quality assessment (EQA) scheme for Neisseria gonorrhoeae antimicrobial susceptibility testing

An EQA scheme for antimicrobial susceptibility testing in Neisseria gonorrhoeae has been available to laboratories participating in ECDC’s STI surveillance network since 2010. Overall, the laboratories participating in the EQA scheme in 2023 performed well and showed good levels of competency in testing N. gonorrhoeae isolates of unknown phenotype.

Mpox risk assessment, reporting protocol, assessment related to SoHO, and epidemiological updates

On 16 August, a risk assessment for the EU/EEA of the mpox epidemic caused by monkeypox virus clade I in affected African countries was published. This was followed by a mpox reporting protocol (version 5) pertaining to national case-based data for surveillance on 23 August, an assessment of mpox and SoHO on 28 August and updated rapid scientific advice on public health measures for mpox on 20 September.

HIV stigma in the healthcare setting: monitoring implementation of the Dublin Declaration

The report provides insights into the level and characteristics of HIV-related stigma in the healthcare setting in Europe and Central Asia. It identifies a need for robust, multifaceted interventions, encompassing education and facility-level guidelines to eliminate stigma, improve HIV knowledge among healthcare workers, and ensure equitable, non-stigmatising care for all people living with HIV.

Tuberculosis: Annual Epidemiological Report for 2022

This report shows that for 2022, the 30 countries in the EU/EEA reported a total of 36,179 TB cases (8.0 per 100 000 population). The notification rate slightly increased in 2022 compared with the previous 2 years, however the declining trend continued to be observed when compared to pre COVID-19 pandemic years. At the current rate, the EU/EEA is not on track to end the TB epidemic as per global goals by 2030.

Hepatitis research articles and editorial in Eurosurveillance

For World Hepatitis Day, two articles on the prevalence of chronic hepatitis C infection in the general population based on results from national surveys in Romania and Estonia were published in Eurosurveillance. These papers were accompanied by an editorial, ‘Towards eliminating hepatitis C as a public health threat: different speeds, different needs’ which highlighted the importance of accelerating evidence based activities around testing and treatment.

HBV elimination in Europe: current status and challenges

This ECDC-European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) review of the current status and challenges around HBV elimination in Europe highlights variation in disease burden across countries and between different risk groups. Notably, a large proportion of cases across the EU/EEA remain undiagnosed and barriers to treatment access and testing, such as out-of-pocket cost and a lack of point-of-care tests, still exist.

Risk of tick-borne encephalitis (TBEV) virus transmission via SoHO

This report aims to assess the risk of TBEV transmission via SoHO and proposes preventive measures. There have been very few documented cases of TBEV transmission through SoHO up to date, suggesting a low likelihood of transmission. As such there remains significant uncertainty in the risk assessment and the proposed preventive measures.

Systematic review on risk factors for carrying Trypanosoma cruzi in non-endemic countries

This review covering the period from January 2000 to June 2022 provides an overview of factors that are consistently associated with a higher risk of carrying a T. cruzi infection in individuals residing in non-endemic countries. Assessing these factors will increase the ability to detect people infected with T. cruzi, supporting the eligibility assessment of SoHO donors and implementation of public health measures.

Disease area updates

Mpox response

ECDC has an active internal response team closely monitoring the mpox situation in Africa and the EU/EEA following WHO declaring the mpox outbreak a public health emergency of international concern. Only one case of Clade Ib has been reported in the EU/EEA to date. ECDC also continues to publish a joint mpox surveillance bulletin with WHO/Europe (next bulletin, mid-October) and weekly global updates in the Communicable Disease Threats Report. Recordings of recent ECDC and EACS mpox webinars are also available.

World Hepatitis Day

In this 26 July news item, ECDC highlighted the ongoing public health challenges posed by hepatitis B and C infections and emphasised the need to scale up vaccination programs, implement targeted testing initiatives, strengthen linkage to care, and enhance infection prevention measures. The critical role of primary care practitioners in supporting local efforts to reach elimination of viral hepatitis was further highlighted in an article in Medscape.

World Sexual Health Day 2024

On 4 September, this news item accompanying publication of the systematic review of chlamydia, gonorrhoea, trichomoniasis, and syphilis prevalence in Europe emphasised the need for countries to create national strategies for STI control, to address surveillance gaps and strengthen their capacity to understand and document the patterns, transmission dynamics, and effects of STIs within a population.

Two TB working groups on prioritised topics

ECDC has convened two working groups aimed at promoting good practices and providing guidance in prioritised TB topics. The working group on TB and Migrant Health is focusing on documenting lessons learned on cross-border management of people with TB in the EU/EEA. The working group on TB Surveillance will contribute to ECDC’s work to adapt the latest WHO consolidated guidelines on TB surveillance to the EU/EEA context.

European Reference Laboratory Network (ERLTB-Net) meeting

The ERLTB-Net held a hybrid meeting from 4-6 September in Bratislava. For 2.5 days, 62 European experts shared lessons learned from the latest iterations of EQA for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, discussed TB diagnosis algorithms used across the EU/EEA, and updated themselves on methods and resources used for detection of drug-resistant TB.

EpiPulse hands-on training sessions for the SoHO-Network

Several training sessions on EpiPulse were organised for the National Focal Points of the SoHO-Network. Each session was followed by a workshop where what information should be shared via EpiPulse was discussed. The trainings, workshops and use of EpiPulse by the SoHo network represents a significant milestone in terms of supporting ECDC’s mandate on the prevention of communicable disease transmission through SoHO.

Workshop on enhancing the use of ECDC HIV, viral hepatitis and STI surveillance and monitoring data and tools for action

As a part of the SDG country support activities, Ministry of Health, Public Health Institute, and civil society representatives from Croatia, Czechia and Slovakia participated in this workshop on 1-2 October. It is the last in a series of workshops aimed at enhancing the knowledge and technical capacities of national/regional public health professionals to use ECDC surveillance and monitoring data and tools.

Meetings, opportunities and events

• * Call for ECDC traineeships open: several (including on our team), deadline for application 12:00 on 21 October

• * Call for ECDC Fellowship Programme open: EPIET or EUPHEM, deadline for application 24:00 on 22 October

• * Lisbon Addictions: 23-25 October, Lisbon

• * Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Malta exchange on HIV/HEP/STI/TB prevention and control in the context of moving populations: 20-22 November, Palermo, by invitation only

• * ESCAIDE: 20-22 November, Stockholm and online: registrations to attend online remain open

• * Hepatitis B and C network meeting: 26-28 November, Egypt, by invitation only

• * Meeting of the Blood group of the SoHO-Network: 5-6 December, Stockholm, by invitation only

• * ECDC continuous professional development catalogue: includes Eurosurveillance e-learnings on evaluating the study question, completeness of study reporting, and diversity in observational studies

• * ECDC Community of Practice for infectious disease prevention and behaviour: aims to strengthen capacity for infectious disease outbreak prevention, with a particular focus on the use of social and behavioural sciences, launching in November, open to EU/EEA professionals with no commercial interests in the field of ECDC’s mandate

Other initiatives you may be interested in

       Second wave of EU4Health calls 2024 launched: includes Action Grants call on health promotion and prevention of vaccine-preventable and other cancers caused by infections split into three subtopics, deadline for application 17:00 on 22 January 2025

       Subtopic B – which aims to increase uptake of HPV vaccination, HBV vaccination among key populations, and HBV and HCV testing, treatment and linkage to care – and Subtopic C – which aims to help reduce the burden of HIV/AIDS, TB and viral hepatitis and address stigma and discrimination – are both intended to support the activities under Direct Grants to Member State authorities (DP/CR-g-24-28) on cancers caused by infections, vaccine-preventable cancers and addressing communicable diseases (HIV/HEP/TB)

       Commission support for the mpox outbreak: first delivery of mpox vaccine doses arrived in Democratic Republic of the Congo on 5 September

       Commission welcomes the Political Declaration reached on 26 September at the United Nations General Assembly to step up action against antimicrobial resistance

       Commission extends authorisation of mpox vaccine Imvanex to adolescents aged 12 to 17 on 20 September

       AI-based multilingual services from the Commission: made for use by EU institutions, public administrations, academia, NGOs and others