International Disease Monitoring Research Articles

A status update on fusarium head blight on Western Canadian wheat

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a devastating disease of wheat in Canada and disease surveillance is a critical component of integrated disease management, disease forecasting, prioritizing research and breeding efforts, grain handling, and cleaning post harvest. We report on the recent trends of FHB in Canadian wheat including incidence and severity from 1995 to 2021 based on data from 208,247 samples. Our results show a steady increase in FHB incidence from 1995, with an epidemic year in 2016, followed by several years of low incidence. Results also indicated that FHB severity has been stable over time, but not always correlated with incidence. Data from the analysis of 26,538 samples from 2018 to 2021 demonstrate a strong positive correlation between the number of Fusarium damaged kernels (severity) and concentrations of the mycotoxin deoxynivalenol. Together, our results provide the most robust survey of FHB in Canada to date, which complement national and international disease monitoring and management efforts.

Disease surveillance in England and Wales, June 2022.

Disease surveillance in England and Wales, June 2022.

Advances in understanding of the natural history, mechanism, extra‐muscular manifestations and treatment of GNE myopathy

AbstractGNE myopathy is an autosomal recessive adult‐onset distal myopathy caused by biallelic variants in the GNE gene, which encodes a protein with two key enzymatic activities in the biosynthesis of sialic acid. In 1981, there was a report of a Japanese family in which muscle biopsies showed rimmed vacuoles in tibialis anterior with relative sparing of the quadriceps muscles. Twenty years later, the causative gene was identified to be GNE. Our group has constructed a mouse model that recapitulates the symptoms of GNE myopathy in patients and demonstrates the therapeutic effects of oral sialic acid supplementation on muscle phenotypes. The first clinical trial of N‐acetylneuraminic acid (NeuAc) was conducted in 2010 at Tohoku University, and several clinical trials are now underway at multiple sites. Patient registries have also been started, including the Japanese Registry of Muscular Dystrophy (Remudy, established in 2012) and the online international GNE Myopathy Disease Monitoring Program (launched in 2014). These registries have allowed collection of comprehensive patient data, including new clinical features suggesting that GNE myopathy is not only a disease of skeletal muscle. In this review, we summarize the history of research on GNE myopathy and discuss the mechanism of the disease and its more recently identified features.

Disease surveillance in England and Wales, April 2021

Disease surveillance in England and Wales, April 2021

Characteristics of molecular typing and drug resistance of 67 Salmonella paratyphi A isolated in Zhengzhou from 2013 to 2015

Objective: To investigate the antimicrobial resistance and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns of S.paratyphi A strains in Zhengzhou city isolated from sentinel hospitals in 2013-2015. Methods: According to Salmonella molecular typing and K-B drug susceptibility testing method published by international PulseNet bacterial infectious disease monitoring network and USA Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI2015), we analyzed drug sensitivity and PFGE molecular characteristics of 67 S.paratyphi A strains(11 strains in 2013, 7 strains in 2014, 49 strains in 2015) isolated from blood and stool samples in two sentinel hospitals of fever with rash syndrome surveillance system established in Zhengzhou city in 2013-2015. Results: The results showed 67 strains of S.paratyphi A had different levels of resistance to 13 kinds of antibiotics, 65 strains were multi-drug resistant strains (97.0%), 5 isolates were resistant to 2-3 kinds of antibiotics (7.5%), 41 isolates were resistant to 5-8 kinds of antibiotics (61.2%),11 isolates were resistant to 9-10 kinds of antibiotics(16.4%),8 isolates were resistant to 11-12 kinds of antibiotics(11.9%). 67 strains of S.paratyphi A were divided into 10 molecular patterns(PTYA1-PTYA10) by digestion with XbaⅠ restriction endonuclease and pulsed field gel electrophoresis, each pattern contains 1-48 strains with similarity ranged from 94.31%-100%. PTYA3 contained 48 strains, which was predominant band type; PTYA1, 9 contained 6 strains; PTYA 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10 contained 1 strains among them. Conclusion: The status of drug resistance of clinical isolates of S.paratyphi A in Zhengzhou city was rather serious, PFGE patterns showed diversity and dominant characteristics. The PFGE patterns of partial strains and its corresponding anti-drug spectrum have certain relevance and cluster relationship.

Characteristics of drug resistance and molecular typing for Salmonella enteritidis isolated in He′nan Province from 2013 to 2015

Objective To investigate the etiological, antimicrobial resistance status and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns of S. enteritidis strains in Henan Province. Methods Totally 82 strains of S. enteritidis strains were isolated from seven sentiel hospitals which were able to detect multiple pathogens from April, 2013 to December, 2015. According to Salmonella K-B drug susceptibility testing and molecular typing method published by the USA clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (2015), the drug sensitivity to 7 kinds of antimicrobial agents and PFGE molecule characteristics of 82 S. enteritidis strains were tested. The PFGE patterns were analyzed by BioNumerics 6.0 software based on international PulseNet bacterial infectious disease monitoring network. Results Forty-seven strains of S. enteritidis were isolated from male patients, 35 strains isolated from female patients. A total of 56 S. enteritidis strains were isolated from young children aged from 0 to 5 years old, including 29 strains isolated from 6 months to 2 years old. The strains were mainly isolated between May and November of the year, and 15 (18.3%) strains were isolated between March and April, 27(32.9%) strains between May and July, 34 (41.5%) strains between August and October, 6 (7.3%) strains were isolated in the rest time of the year, with a typical seasonal characteristics of summer and autumn. Sxity-four (78.0%) strains of S. enteritidis were resistant to ampicillin; 23 (28.0%) strains were resistant to ceftazidime; 39 (47.6%) strains were resistant to cefotaxime; 13 (15.9%) strains were resistant to cefepime; 55 (67.1%) strains were resistant to nalidixic acid; 24 (29.3%) strains were resistant to ciprofloxacin; 32 (39.0%) strains were resistant to gentamicin; 14 (17.1%) strains were resistant to chloramphenicol; 47 (57.3%) strains were resistant to methicillin benzyl ammonium; 13 (15.9%) strains were resistant to sulfamethoxazole and trimethoprim; 21 (25.6%) strains were resistant to tetracycline. All strains were multi-drug resistant, and 21 (25.6%) isolates were resistant to 3-4 kinds of antibiotics, 32 (39.0%) isolates were resistant to 5—6 kinds of antibiotics, 29 (35.4%) isolates were resistant to 7-8 kinds of antibiotics. These 82 strains of S. enteritidis were divided into 25 molecular patterns by digestion with XbaⅠ enzyme. Each pattern contained 1 to 26 strains with similarity ranged from 59.33%-100.00%. EN1 and EN2 were the main PFGE belt types and included 26 and 16 strains, respectively. Conclusions The drug resistance of clinical isolates of S. enteritidis in Henan province is serious. PFGE patterns show polymorphism and the dominant patterns, part of which are associated with drug-resistance spectrum and show aggregation. Key words: Salmonella enteritidis; Molecular typing; Pulsed field gel electrophorsis

The etiological and molecular typing research of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli in Henan province in 2013

To analyze the distribution and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns of five kinds of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC) in infected diarrhea population of Henan province in 2013. Gathering 1 037 strains of E. coli of 1 037 diarrhea patients from four sentinel hospitals of multi-pathogen monitoring system in Henan province in 2013. Stool samples were cultured with Mac agar plates and using KIA/MIU biochemical action as the preliminary method to identify E. coli strains; preparation of DNA template with thermal cracking method and using multiplex PCR to detect five kinds of DEC. According to molecular typing method published by the international PulseNet bacterial infectious disease monitoring network, the PFGE molecular characteristics of DEC strains were analyzed. 125 DEC positive strains were detected in 1 037 strains of E. coli, the total detection rate was 12.05%. 90 strains were enteroaggregative E.coli (EAEC), detection rate was 8.68% (n=90); 24 strains were enteropathogenic E.coli (EPEC), detection rate was 2.31%; 7 strains were enteroinvasive E.coli (EIEC), detection rate was 0.68%; 4 strains were enterotoxigenic E.coli (ETEC), detection rate was 0.39%; enterohemorrhagic E.coli (EHEC) was not detected. 639 cases of diarrhea samples were collected from male patients, 398 cases were from female patients, 94 positive cases were from male patients, the detection rate was 14.71%.The positive number of female cases were 31 cases, the detection rate was 7.79%. 97 positive cases were detected from 782 countryside cases and 28 positive cases were detected from 255 urban area cases, with detection rate 12.40% and 10.98% respectively. In 125 cases of DEC positive samples, children below 5 years old were 83 cases, accounting for 66.4%; 53 strains of EAEC were divided into 52 molecular patterns by digestion with XbaⅠ and pulsed field gel electrophoresis, each pattern contained 1-2 strains with similarity ranged from 66.3%-100%; 18 strains of EPEC were divided into 18 molecular patterns, each pattern contains 1 strain with similarity ranged from 72.6%-94.8%; 5 strains of EIEC were divided into 5 molecular patterns, each pattern contains 1 strain with similarity ranged from 71.9%-98.5%. 2 strains of ETEC were divided into 2 molecular patterns and similarity below 70%. Through the research we could find that four kinds of DEC as a pathogenic bacteria took an important component in pathogenic spectrum of bacterial diarrhea of Henan province in 2013. Four kinds of DEC carrying different virulence genes and taking multiple PFGE patterns showed diversity and complexity characteristics.

Surveillance on the etiology and molecular epidemiology of Shigella sonnei isolated in Henan province from 2011 to 2014

To detect and analyze the distribution of virulence factors, antimicrobial resistance and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns of Shigella sonnei, isolated in Henan province from 2011 to 2014. Samples of diarrhea patients were collected and isolated with SS selective culture medium in 37 ℃ for 18-24 hours. All strains were identified under the Kligler iron agar/motility-indol-urea biochemical action and API20E biochemical system. Serological typing and prepared DNA template were carried out with thermal cracking method and multiplex PCR, to detect the virulence genes of Shigella sonnei. According to the molecular typing method and K-B drug susceptibility testing method published by the international PulseNet bacterial infectious disease monitoring network and USA clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute, antimicrobial susceptibility tests and PFGE molecular characteristics of these positive strains isolated from sentinel hospitals patients stool samples were analyzed. Among the 98 strains of Sonnei type Ⅰ and 118 strains of Sonnei type Ⅱ, all the strains carried carry different virulence genes including SHET-1B, SHET-2, ial, ipaH genes, with 4 kinds of virulence gene combination types. All the 216 strains of Shigella sonnei belonged to the multi-drug resistant strains, including 34 isolates resistant to 2-4 kinds of antibiotics(15.7%), 147 isolates to 5-8 kinds of antibiotics (68.1%), 24 to 9-10 kinds of antibiotics (11.1%), 7 to 11 kinds of antibiotics (3.2%), and 4 to 13 kinds of antibiotics (1.9%). A total of 100 strains of Shigella sonnei were divided into 31 molecular patterns, digested by XbaⅠ and PFGE. Each pattern contained 1-13 strains with similarities ranged from 68.6%-100.0%. All the Shigella sonnei strains carried virulence pathogenic factors, presenting serious status on drug resistance. PFGE fingerprinting patterns showed high polymorphism and dominant characteristics. PFGE patterns of partial strains and corresponding antidrug spectrum presented certain relevance and with same aggregation relationship.

Characteristics of drug resistance and molecular typing research for Salmonella Enteritidis isolated in Henan province from 2011 to 2013

To investigate the antimicrobial resistance status and pulsed field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) patterns of Salmonella Enteritidis (S.Enteritidis) strains in Henan province. S. Enteritidis strains were isolated from seven sentinel hospitals from March 2011 to December 2013. According to molecular typing and Salmonella (Kirby-Bauer, K-B) drug susceptibility testing method published by the international PulseNet bacterial infectious disease monitoring network and USA Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), we analyzed drug sensitivity of 8 kinds antibiotics and PFGE molecule characteristics of 120 S. Enteritidis isolates from seven sentinel hospitals. Among 120 strains of S. Enteritidis, 77 were isolated from male patients, 43 from female patients. A total of 78 strains S. Enteritidis were isolated from young children ranged from 0 to 5 years old (65.0%), including 57 strains isolated from 6 months to 2 years old (47.5%). The isolated time mainly centralized on May to October of the year, 11 strains isolated in March-April (9.2%), 48 were in May-July (40.0%),54 in August-October (45.0%), 7 in other months, with a typical summer seasonal characteristics. The resistance rate of 120 strains S. Enteritidis to ampicillin was 50.0% (n=60); to ceftazidime was 14.2% (n=17), to cefotaxime was 18.3% (n=22); to cefepime was 5.8% (n=7); to nalidixic acid was 61.7% (n=74); to ciprofloxacin was 8.3% (n=10), to norfloxacin was 5.8% (n=7); to gentamicin was 42.5% (n=51); to streptomycin was 21.7% (n=26); to chloramphenicol was 30.0% (n=36); resistance to methicillin benzyl ammonium was 11.7% (n=14), compound sulfamethoxazole resistance rate was 71.7% (n=86); the tetracycline resistant rate was 47.5% (n=57). All 120 strains of S. Enteritidis had different levels of resistance to 8 kinds of antibiotics, all strains were multidrug resistant strains, 28 isolates were resistant to 3-4 kinds of antibiotics (23.3%), 38 isolates were resistant to 5-6 kinds of antibiotics (31.7%), 39 isolates were resistant to 7-8 kinds of antibiotics (32.5%). All 120 strains of S. Enteritidis were divided into 44 molecular patterns by digestion with XbaI and pulsed field gel electrophoresis. each pattern contained 1-35 strains with similarity ranged from 54.3%-100%. EN14 and EN19 were the main PFGE types, including 35 and 29 strains respectively. The status of drug resistance of clinical isolates of Salmonella in Henan province was rather serious, PFGE patterns showed advantages and partial strain's corresponding resistant spectrum have certain relevance and the same aggregation relationship.

Disease surveillance in England and Wales

This report is produced by the APHA Surveillance Intelligence Unit and the six Species Expert Groups (livestock and wildlife). It is drawn from scanning surveillance information, data and reports produced...

International disease monitoring, January to March 2012

African swine fever in Namibia, Tanzania and Italy (Sardinia) Bluetongue in previously affected regions of Portugal, Spain and France (Corsica) Classical swine fever in Russia Contagious bovine pleuropneumonia in Kenya...

International disease monitoring, April to June

African swine fever in the Caucasus regionLower-risk zone for bluetongue serotype 8 implemented in Great BritainOutbreaks of equine infectious anaemia in Belgium; new legislation in RomaniaWidespread foot-and-mouth disease epizootic in...

International disease monitoring, January to March

African swine fever outbreaks in the Caucasus regionEquine infectious anaemia in the UK, Belgium, France and GermanyFoot-and-mouth disease in dairy cattle in South Korea, a country previously officially free without...

International disease monitoring, October to December 2009

African swine fever outbreaks in the Caucasus region, and one in the Leningrad regionBluetongue virus serotype 4 (BTV-4) outbreaks in Morocco and Tunisia pose a threat to Spain and PortugalFeral...

International disease monitoring, July to September 2009

African swine fever in the Caucasus regionLimited number of BTV-1 and BTV-8 outbreaks in France, and BTV-1 in Spain and PortugalOutbreak of classical swine fever in domestic pigs in LithuaniaFurther...

International disease monitoring, April to June 2009

African swine fever in the Caucasus regionBTV-1 and BTV-8 outbreaks in FranceSporadic cases of classical swine fever in wild boar continue to be reported from Germany and HungaryMixed serotypes of...

International disease monitoring, January to March 2009

African swine fever appears to be moving slowly north and west in southern RussiaBluetongue virus serotype 8 outbreaks in Norway, Italy and the Greek islandsClassical swine fever in wild boar...

International disease monitoring, October to December 2008

African swine fever in wild boar in the Caucasus regionBTV-1 in northern France and BTV-6 in the Netherlands and GermanyClassical swine fever in domestic pigs and wild boar in central...

Infektionsepidemiologische Methoden für den ÖGD: Fall-Kontrollfall-Vergleiche als Brücke zwischen Praxis, Surveillance und Epidemiologie

Routine surveillance of infectious diseases is one important task of national public health services. Due to globalization the impact of international disease monitoring rises. The volume of traffic and trade is constantly increasing, which makes a spread of infectious diseases to distant places more likely then ever. This are challenges international infectious disease networks have to deal with. Thus, the role of investigation of disease outbreaks is not only relevant for local level; it furthermore prevents broader spread. To eliminate outbreak sources good epidemiological analyses have to be conducted. However, this often leads to extra time and personal resources. In addition classical studies, like case-control studies, underlay methodical limitations. Case-control studies, especially if conducted on the basis of notified cases from surveillance data, are susceptible to bias (like selection- and recall bias). Another study design, the case-case study (case-case comparison), provides an alternative, which is less affected by such limitations. In this approach a number of cases related within an outbreak, is compared with a group of infected individuals of the same disease, not belonging to the outbreak. Results from recently published studies lead to the assumption that this study design is adequate for the investigation of infectious disease outbreaks, captured by surveillance systems. The practical application of this study design makes it especially useful for local public health services and thus provides a bridge between surveillance, epidemiology and practical work in Public Health.