Increasing trends in hepatitis E hospitalisations in Spain, 1997 to 2019.

BackgroundHepatitis E, a viral hepatitis caused mainly by the ingestion of raw or undercooked food, is not a notifiable disease in Spain.AimTo analyse the temporal trends, epidemiological characteristics and factors associated with severe disease from hepatitis E hospitalisations in Spain from 1997 to 2019.MethodsHospitalisation records were obtained from the Spanish National Hospital Discharge Database.

Marked increase in cryptosporidiosis cases, Spain, 2023.

BackgroundBy mid-September 2023, several event notifications related to cryptosporidiosis had been identified from different regions in Spain. Therefore, a request for urgent notification of cryptosporidiosis cases to the National Surveillance Network was launched.AimWe aimed at assessing the extent of the increase in cases, the epidemiological characteristics and the transmission modes and compared to previous years.

Botulism in Spain: Epidemiology and Outcomes of Antitoxin Treatment, 1997-2019.

Background: Botulism is a low incidence but potentially fatal infectious disease caused by neurotoxins produced mainly by . There are different routes of acquisition, food-borne and infant/intestinal being the most frequent presentation, and antitoxin is the treatment of choice in all cases. In Spain, botulism is under surveillance, and case reporting is mandatory.

Epidemiological Characteristics and Spatio-Temporal Distribution of Hepatitis A in Spain in the Context of the 2016/2017 European Outbreak.

The aim of our study was to describe the results of the epidemiological surveillance of hepatitis A infections in Spain in the context of the 2016/2017 European outbreak, particularly of hepatitis A outbreaks reported in the MSM population, incorporating the results of a spatio-temporal analysis of cases. Hepatitis A cases and outbreaks reported in 2016-2017 to the National Epidemiological Surveillance Network were reviewed: outbreaks in which some of the cases belonged to the MSM group were described, and clusters of hepatitis A cases in men and women were analysed using a space-time scan statistic. Twenty-six outbreaks were identified, with a median size of two cases per outbreak, with most of the outbreak-related cases belonging to the 15-44 years-old group.

Assessing the effect of non-pharmaceutical interventions on COVID-19 transmission in Spain, 30 August 2020 to 31 January 2021.

BackgroundAfter a national lockdown during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in Spain, regional governments implemented different non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) during the second wave.AimTo analyse which implemented NPIs significantly impacted effective reproduction number (R) in seven Spanish provinces during 30 August 2020-31 January 2021.MethodsWe coded each NPI and levels of stringency with a 'severity index' (SI) and computed a global SI (mean of SIs per six included interventions).

Perimeter confinements of basic health zones and COVID-19 incidence in Madrid, Spain.

Background: A unique policy of perimeter closures of Basic Health Zones (small administrative health units) was implemented in the Autonomous Community of Madrid from September 21st 2020 to May 23rd 2021 to face the COVID-19 pandemic.

Aim: To assess the impact of local perimeter confinements on the 14-days cumulative incidence of SARS-CoV-2 during the second wave of the pandemic in Madrid, Spain.

Methods: We compare the errors in estimation of two families of mathematical models: ones that include the perimeter closures as explanatory covariables and ones that do not, in search of a significant improvement in estimation of one family over the other.

Real time surveillance of COVID-19 space and time clusters during the summer 2020 in Spain.

Background: On June 21st de-escalation measures and state-of-alarm ended in Spain after the COVID-19 first wave. New surveillance and control strategy was set up to detect emerging outbreaks.

Aim: To detect and describe the evolution of COVID-19 clusters and cases during the 2020 summer in Spain.