Introduction Bacterial meningitis is considered a disease of high interest and one of the issues that public health is often concerned with. Bacterial meningitis is defined as an acute infection of the central nervous system and meninges. The infection is…
Leishmaniasis
Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease (or better, a complex of diseases) caused by intracellular protozoan parasites of the genus Leishmania (Trypanosomatidae family). Leishmaniasis is a mammalian disease. Human infection is caused by at least 20 Leishmania species, classified: to the…
Recent data on HIV infection in Greece, October 2014
The surveillance of HIV in Greece is conducted by the HIV & STIs Office of the Hellenic Centre for Disease Control & Prevention (HCDCP). It includes the mandatory reporting of HIV infections, AIDS cases and deaths. By the end of…
Hiv/Aids infection and pregnancy
Introduction Over the past decades, a comprehensive effort has ensured that vertical, perinatal transmission by pregnant, HIV+ women has been significantly reduced. In developed countries, especially in the Western world, antiretroviral therapy and proper management of labor and neonatal treatment…
Leptospirosis in Greece
Introduction The Leptospira genus includes several heterogenic groups of pathogenic (group I and II) and of non-pathogenic microorganisms. Taxonomy on a genetic basis, describes 14 different species of pathogens, grouped in 260 different serovars, classified in antigenically similar groups. The…
Ebola virus disease (EVD)
Introduction – epidemiology – transmission Ebola virus disease (EVD) is a severe, often fatal illness and one of the world’s most virulent diseases. Ebola hemorrhagic fever is caused by the Ebola virus, which belongs to the Filoviridae family (filovirus). Ebola…
Epidemiology and prevention of HPV infections
Introduction HPV is a non-enveloped, double-stranded circular deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) virus, enclosed by an icosahedral protein capsid which carries two proteins L1 and L2 that can be recognized by the host’s immune system. Its genome is about 8000 base pairs…
Bathing water quality in Greece
The quality of bathing water in Greece has been monitored systematically since 1990. Until 2010, the implementing Directive was Directive 76/160/EEC. Since then, the quality of bathing water has been monitored in accordance with the requirements of European Directive 2006/7/EC…
Bathing water quality in Greece
The quality of bathing water in Greece has been systematically monitored since 1988 in accordance with Directive 76/160/EEC “On the quality of bathing waters” within the framework of the “Monitoring Programme of Bathing Water Quality”. However, since 2010, the quality…
Campylobacter in Greece: a 25-five-year experience
Although there is no systematic surveillance and notification of Campylobacter infections in Greece, data retrieved from various sources from general hospitals suggest that Campylobacter jejuni is either the first or the second most common bacterial enteric pathogen (the other one…