Surveillance of Zika virus infection in the EU/EEA, June 2015 to January 2017

Abstract

Surveillance of Zika virus (ZIKV) infection in the European Union/European Economic Area (EU/EEA) was implemented in 2016 in response to the large outbreak reported in the Americas in 2015 associated with an increased number of infants born with microcephaly. Between June 2015 and January 2017, 21 EU/EEA countries reported 2,133 confirmed cases of ZIKV infection, of whom 106 were pregnant women. Cases infected in the Caribbean constituted 71% of reported cases. Almost all cases (99%) were most probably infected by mosquito bite during travel outside continental Europe, while only 1% were transmitted sexually. Considering that 584 imported cases were reported between May and October 2016 among residents of areas with established presence of Aedes albopictus, the absence of autochthonous vector-borne cases suggests that Ae. albopictus is not an efficient vector for ZIKV infection.

Keywords: Zika; emerging diseases; re-emerging diseases; surveillance; vector-borne infections.

Figure 1

Number of cases of Zika virus infection by place of residence (NUTS2) and established presence of Aedes albopictus as at 14 March 2017, 21 EU/EEA countries^a, week 26/2015–week 5/2017 (n = 1,881)

Figure 2

Number of cases of Zika virus infection by week of reporting and probable region of infection, 21 EU/EEA countries^a, week 48/2015–week 5/2017 (n = 1,811)