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Outbreak of Corynebacterium diphtheriae among asylum seekers in Belgium in 2022: operational challenges and lessons learnt

Since 2022, European countries have been facing an outbreak of mainly cutaneous diphtheria caused by toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae among asylum seekers. In Belgium, between 1 March and 31 December 2022, 25 cases of toxigenic C. diphtheriae infection were confirmed among asylum seekers, mostl...

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Autores principales: Jacquinet, Stéphanie, Martini, Helena, Mangion, Jean-Paul, Neusy, Sarah, Detollenaere, Aurélie, Hammami, Naïma, Bruggeman, Lien, Hoorelbeke, Bart, Pierard, Denis, Cornelissen, Laura
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) 2023
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10623644/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37917029
http://dx.doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.44.2300130
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author Jacquinet, Stéphanie
Martini, Helena
Mangion, Jean-Paul
Neusy, Sarah
Detollenaere, Aurélie
Hammami, Naïma
Bruggeman, Lien
Hoorelbeke, Bart
Pierard, Denis
Cornelissen, Laura
author_facet Jacquinet, Stéphanie
Martini, Helena
Mangion, Jean-Paul
Neusy, Sarah
Detollenaere, Aurélie
Hammami, Naïma
Bruggeman, Lien
Hoorelbeke, Bart
Pierard, Denis
Cornelissen, Laura
author_sort Jacquinet, Stéphanie
collection PubMed
description Since 2022, European countries have been facing an outbreak of mainly cutaneous diphtheria caused by toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae among asylum seekers. In Belgium, between 1 March and 31 December 2022, 25 cases of toxigenic C. diphtheriae infection were confirmed among asylum seekers, mostly among young males from Afghanistan. Multi-locus sequence typing showed that most isolates belonged to sequence types 574 or 377, similar to the majority of cases in other European countries. The investigation and management of the outbreak, with many asylum seekers without shelter, required adjustments to case finding, contact tracing and treatment procedures. A test-and-treat centre was organised by non-governmental organisations, the duration of the antimicrobial treatment was shortened to increase compliance, and isolation and contact tracing of cases was not possible. A vaccination centre was opened, and mobile vaccination campaigns were organised to vaccinate a maximum of asylum seekers. No more cases were detected between end December 2022 and May 2023. Unfortunately, though, three cases of respiratory diphtheria, including one death, were reported at the end of June 2023. To prevent future outbreaks, specific attention and sufficient resources should be allocated to this vulnerable population, in Belgium and at international level.
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spelling pubmed-106236442023-11-04 Outbreak of Corynebacterium diphtheriae among asylum seekers in Belgium in 2022: operational challenges and lessons learnt Jacquinet, Stéphanie Martini, Helena Mangion, Jean-Paul Neusy, Sarah Detollenaere, Aurélie Hammami, Naïma Bruggeman, Lien Hoorelbeke, Bart Pierard, Denis Cornelissen, Laura Euro Surveill Outbreaks Since 2022, European countries have been facing an outbreak of mainly cutaneous diphtheria caused by toxigenic Corynebacterium diphtheriae among asylum seekers. In Belgium, between 1 March and 31 December 2022, 25 cases of toxigenic C. diphtheriae infection were confirmed among asylum seekers, mostly among young males from Afghanistan. Multi-locus sequence typing showed that most isolates belonged to sequence types 574 or 377, similar to the majority of cases in other European countries. The investigation and management of the outbreak, with many asylum seekers without shelter, required adjustments to case finding, contact tracing and treatment procedures. A test-and-treat centre was organised by non-governmental organisations, the duration of the antimicrobial treatment was shortened to increase compliance, and isolation and contact tracing of cases was not possible. A vaccination centre was opened, and mobile vaccination campaigns were organised to vaccinate a maximum of asylum seekers. No more cases were detected between end December 2022 and May 2023. Unfortunately, though, three cases of respiratory diphtheria, including one death, were reported at the end of June 2023. To prevent future outbreaks, specific attention and sufficient resources should be allocated to this vulnerable population, in Belgium and at international level. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) 2023-11-02 /pmc/articles/PMC10623644/ /pubmed/37917029 http://dx.doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.44.2300130 Text en This article is copyright of the authors or their affiliated institutions, 2023. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) Licence. You may share and adapt the material, but must give appropriate credit to the source, provide a link to the licence, and indicate if changes were made.
spellingShingle Outbreaks
Jacquinet, Stéphanie
Martini, Helena
Mangion, Jean-Paul
Neusy, Sarah
Detollenaere, Aurélie
Hammami, Naïma
Bruggeman, Lien
Hoorelbeke, Bart
Pierard, Denis
Cornelissen, Laura
Outbreak of Corynebacterium diphtheriae among asylum seekers in Belgium in 2022: operational challenges and lessons learnt
title Outbreak of Corynebacterium diphtheriae among asylum seekers in Belgium in 2022: operational challenges and lessons learnt
title_full Outbreak of Corynebacterium diphtheriae among asylum seekers in Belgium in 2022: operational challenges and lessons learnt
title_fullStr Outbreak of Corynebacterium diphtheriae among asylum seekers in Belgium in 2022: operational challenges and lessons learnt
title_full_unstemmed Outbreak of Corynebacterium diphtheriae among asylum seekers in Belgium in 2022: operational challenges and lessons learnt
title_short Outbreak of Corynebacterium diphtheriae among asylum seekers in Belgium in 2022: operational challenges and lessons learnt
title_sort outbreak of corynebacterium diphtheriae among asylum seekers in belgium in 2022: operational challenges and lessons learnt
topic Outbreaks
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10623644/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37917029
http://dx.doi.org/10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.44.2300130
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