Headlines - Hantavirus Surveillance

In an article published in the May 24, 2012, issue of the Eurosurveillance bulletin, Germany reported an unprecedented number of hantavirus infection cases during the winter period between October 2011 and April 2012 (852 cases, 68% of which were in Baden-Württemberg)1. This increase in cases, occurring earlier than during the 2007 and 2010 epidemics, suggests that 2012 will be an epidemic year. In the same bulletin, Slovenia also reported an increase in cases between January and April 20122.

In mainland France, since the winter of 2011/2012, the number of confirmed cases of hantavirus infections identified by the National Reference Center (CNR) has been high, though it has not reached the figures of the last epidemic year in 2005. From January to June 2012, 94 cases among residents of France were confirmed, including 21 cases in Franche-Comté and 8 in Burgundy (provisional data). The CNR attributes the increase in cases observed this year in part to improved participation by its surveillance network, but remains vigilant nonetheless.