RESUMEN
We report a record high pertussis epidemic in Denmark since August 2023. Highest incidence was in adolescents, while peak incidence in infants was lower vs previous epidemics in 2019 and 2016. Among infants aged 0-2 months, over half (29/48) were hospitalised and one infant died, underlining the disease severity in the youngest. To protect infants, pertussis vaccination in pregnant women was introduced in January 2024 in the national vaccination programme. Improved vaccination surveillance in pregnant women is being implemented.
Asunto(s)
Tos Ferina , Lactante , Adolescente , Humanos , Femenino , Embarazo , Tos Ferina/epidemiología , Tos Ferina/prevención & control , Bordetella pertussis , Vacunación , Mujeres Embarazadas , Incidencia , Dinamarca/epidemiología , Vacuna contra la Tos FerinaRESUMEN
Since the end of November 2023, the European Mortality Monitoring Network (EuroMOMO) has observed excess mortality in Europe. During weeks 48 2023-6 2024, preliminary results show a substantially increased rate of 95.3 (95%â¯CI:â¯â¯91.7-98.9) excess all-cause deaths per 100,000 person-years for all ages. This excess mortality is seen in adults aged 45 years and older, and coincides with widespread presence of COVID-19, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) observed in many European countries during the 2023/24 winter season.
Asunto(s)
COVID-19 , Gripe Humana , Infecciones por Virus Sincitial Respiratorio , Virus Sincitial Respiratorio Humano , Adulto , Humanos , Gripe Humana/epidemiología , Europa (Continente)/epidemiología , Estaciones del Año , Infecciones por Virus Sincitial Respiratorio/epidemiologíaRESUMEN
Background: When coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) restrictions were lifted in Denmark in the spring of 2021, a surge in respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) cases followed, causing a large out-of-season epidemic. This study aims to investigate the summer epidemic compared with 3 typical pre-COVID-19 RSV winter seasons using Danish registers to identify RSV cases, RSV-related admissions, and use of intensive care treatment. Methods: Incidence rates (IR) per 1000 person-years for RSV cases, RSV-related admissions, and intensive care treatment were calculated with 95% confidence interval (CI) for each season, stratified by age groups and incidence rate ratios (IRR) with 95% CI were calculated to compare the summer epidemic with the winter season for 2019-2020. Results: In the summer epidemic, the IR of RSV cases and admissions exceeded previous winter seasons for all age groups. The highest increases in IRs were seen among children aged 2 to 3 years and 4 to 5 years. The IRR of cases were 4.6 (95% CI, 4.1-5.2) and 3.3 (2.6-4.2) and the IRR of admissions were 3.3 (2.7-4.2) and 3.8 (2.3-6.5) in the 2 age groups, respectively, when compared with the winter season 2019-2020. Conclusions: Likely because of immunity debt following COVID-19 restrictions, the summer epidemic was significantly larger than previous winter seasons, most markedly among children aged 2 to 3 and 4 to 5 years but had a similar disease severity spectrum.