News

• The Sentinelles network has issued a call for participation in influenza surveillance in Auvergne for the 2015-2016 season.

• Avian Influenza: In late November 2015, an outbreak of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza in poultry was detected at a chicken farm in the Dordogne. As of December 16, 2015, 30 additional outbreaks had been detected in five departments in southwestern France. Genome sequencing of the virus shows that it lacks all known determinants that facilitate transmission to humans, and the risk is considered virtually zero.

• Zika: Outbreaks caused by the Zika virus, which is closely related to the dengue virus and transmitted by Aedes mosquitoes, have been reported in Africa and Southeast Asia, and more recently in the Pacific and Brazil. In recent weeks, the virus has spread to several countries in South and Central America. A possible link between the occurrence of these outbreaks and an increased incidence of Guillain-Barré syndrome and neonatal malformations (microcephaly) has been suggested, but no causal link with the Zika virus has yet been established. In light of the spread of the Zika virus in the Americas, enhanced surveillance has been implemented in the French overseas departments and territories (DFA).

• Ebola Update in West Africa: As of December 13, 2015, the WHO reports a total of 28,604 cases (suspected, probable, and confirmed) and 11,300 deaths in the three most affected countries (Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea). Sierra Leone was officially declared free of Ebola virus transmission by the WHO on November 7, 2015. In Guinea, no new cases have been reported since October 29, 2015. Liberia has not reported any new cases since November 20, 2015.