Influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and postpandemic influenza in Lithuania.

The objective of this study is to describe the clinical and epidemiological characteristics of patients hospitalized in Lithuania who are infected with influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 and to compare pandemic A(H1N1) pdm09 infection with postpandemic. In total, 146 subjects hospitalized with influenza A(H1N1) pdm09 were identified from 2009-2011. There were 53 during the initial pandemic wave in the summer of 2009, 69 during the peak pandemic period, and 24 during the "postpandemic" period that we included in this study.

Current status of human papillomavirus vaccination implementation in central and eastern Europe.

We present a review of the current implementation status of vaccination against human papillomaviruses (HPV) and available data concerning the burden of HPV infection and HPV type-specific distribution in 16 central and eastern European countries: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Montenegro, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. At least one current HPV prophylactic vaccine is registered in all central and eastern European countries except Montenegro. Six counties-Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Latvia, Romania, Slovenia, and Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia-have integrated the HPV vaccination into their national immunization program and currently provide routine vaccination free of charge to the primary target population.

Screening for Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans in patients with upper respiratory tract infections 2007-2008: a multicentre European study.

Diphtheria is now rare in most European countries but, when cases do arise, the case fatality rate is high (5-10%). Because few countries continue to routinely screen for the causative organisms of diphtheria, the extent to which they are circulating amongst different European populations is largely unknown. During 2007-2008, ten European countries each screened between 968 and 8551 throat swabs from patients with upper respiratory tract infections.

Tick-borne encephalitis in the age of general mobility.

The 11th meeting of the International Scientific Working Group on Tick-borne Encephalitis (ISW-TBE) was conducted under the title of, "From childhood to golden age: increased mobility - increased risk of contracting TBE?" Participants from 26 countries, including the United States of America and China, presented reports on the latest developments and trends in local TBE cases, vaccination coverage and risk factors. In particular, the situation of children and the elderly (the "golden agers") was discussed. As the current evidence suggests, the location and extension of endemic areas for TBE have changed over the last few years, along with global warming and the shift of infected ticks to higher altitudes.