Establishing severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) surveillance in a sentinel hospital, Ireland, 2021 to 2022.

BackgroundIn 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) accelerated development of European-level severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) surveillance.AimWe aimed to establish SARI surveillance in one Irish hospital as part of a European network E-SARI-NET.MethodsWe used routine emergency department records to identify cases in one adult acute hospital.

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in the context of paediatric COVID-19 infection in the Republic of Ireland April 2020 to April 2021.

Aim: Our aim was to describe the epidemiology of multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) in the Republic of Ireland, in the context of all cases of COVID-19 in children, during the first year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Methods: Cases of MIS-C were identified by prospective surveillance in Irish hospitals from April 2020 to April 2021. Paediatric COVID-19 cases and outbreaks in schools or childcare facilities were notified to and routinely investigated by Public Health.

A large national outbreak of COVID-19 linked to air travel, Ireland, summer 2020.

An outbreak of 59 cases of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) originated with 13 cases linked by a 7 h, 17% occupancy flight into Ireland, summer 2020. The flight-associated attack rate was 9.8-17.

A proposal for changes to the European Union syphilis surveillance case definition using evidence from evaluations in Ireland.

Syphilis remains a disease of public health importance, with considerable health effects if not treated. Concurrent infection with syphilis and untreated HIV facilitates HIV transmission. The incidence of syphilis in Europe has been increasing, particularly among men who have sex with men (MSM) and in MSM with HIV.

Towards a Tobacco Free Ireland-scaling up and strengthening quit smoking behaviour at population level.

Background: Tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death in Ireland; half of all long-term smokers die prematurely from smoking-related diseases. Achieving 'Tobacco Free Ireland' (a smoking prevalence of less than 5%) will require the prevention of smoking initiation and the promotion of smoking cessation.

Methods: A secondary analysis of Healthy Ireland 2015 was undertaken to identify determinants of smoking cessation attempts and the use of smoking cessation aids in the general adult population in Ireland.