Quoted in ProMED:

Regarding recent cases in Afula, rates of West Nile fever in Israel have been strikingly similar to those of North America for the last 3 years. (See graph)

Also quoted in ProMED:
The recent outbreak in Paisley, Scotland, highlights the fact that rates of E. coli O157 in Scotland are more than 2-fold those of other areas in the UK. In the following graph, I’ve inserted rates in Ireland and the USA, for comparison:

A recent report of hundreds of new cases in Katanga Province highlights the fact that although reports of leprosy Worldwide and in Africa have declined since 2000, disease rates in D.R.C. have actually increased.

Update: posted in ProMED

An interesting piece by Steve in ProMED, regarding tick borne diseases in the US:

Although Rocky Mountain spotted fever and Lyme disease are better known to the lay public, the list of additional tick-borne diseases has grown in recent years. The incidence of Lyme disease in the United States is greater than 5-fold that of all other tick-borne infections combined:

If we eliminate Lyme disease, we find that tularemia was the most common disease in this group until 1965, but has since been superseded by Rocky Mountain spotted fever — and more recently Ehrlichiosis:

Most significantly, although deaths due to other tick-borne diseases have declined in recent years, the number dying from tularemia has remained surprisingly constant for over 4 decades:

Following up on the latest outbreak of salmonellosis in Constanta, Romania, using the GIDEON graph function, Steve analyzes the reported rates of salmonellosis in Romania and surrounding countries. As reported by ProMED:

The recent outbreak in Constanta belies the fact that Romania has consistently reported the lowest rates of salmonellosis in this region of Europe for at least 20 years. See graph.

Following the latest outbreak of measles in Switzerland, Steve graphs vaccine coverage in the neighboring countries in this ProMED post:

This latest outbreak in Lucerne reminds us that the goal of 95 percent measles coverage continues to elude this region of Europe. See graph.

Steve is quoted in ProMED again:

A recent ProMED-mail posting is a reminder that Lyme disease is extremely common in the Baltic region. In fact, disease rates are several fold higher in this area than in the USA (see graph at http://exhibit.gideononline.com/Lyme-Baltic.jpg).

Additional background data abstracted from GIDEON (primary references available on request):

The 1st cases (3) of Lyme borreliosis in Lithuania were diagnosed in 1987; and Estonia reported its 1st cases in 1988.
Endemic foci exist in the western, eastern, and southern regions of Estonia. The areas of highest risk are concentrated along the Finnish Gulf coast in Harjumaa and Western Virumaa, in Parnumaa and Eastern Virumaa counties, and on the island of Saaremaa.
In Latvia, 2.7 per cent of workers in high-risk occupations and 3 per cent of healthy persons in the Karksi Nuia region (south) of Estonia are seropositive.
_Ixodes ricinus_ is abundant in Estonia, and _Ixodes persulcatus_ is found in the east and south of the country; 3 per cent of _I. ricinus_ adults and 5 per cent of the _I. persulcatus_ adults are infected with _Borrelia burgdorferi_; 31 per cent in Narva-Joesuu, 12 per cent in Western Virumaa, and 14 per cent in Tartumaa. Borreliae are found in 15 per cent of ticks (_I. ricinus_) on Vormsi Island. Tick infection by _B. afzelii_ and _B. garinii_ has also been demonstrated.
_B. afzelii_ is the dominant species among _I. ricinus_ and _I. persulcatus_ in Latvia, followed by _B. garinii_ and _B. burgdorferi_ (1993 to 2002). In Lithuania, 11 per cent of adults and 1 per cent of nymphal _I. ricinus_ ticks are infected with Borrelia (1988 to 1991).

Steve is quoted once again in ProMED:

The latest outbreak of Measles - Democratic Republic of the Congo (Katanga) highlights the fact that measles rates in this area have changed little during the past 2 decades.
The relevant data extracted from the GIDEON database can be viewed in graphic form via the following link.
There is little doubt that such outbreaks are related to continued suboptimal and erratic vaccination coverage.

ProMED published another note from GIDEON related to Salmonellosis in Germany. Here’s an abstract:

Salmonellosis accounts for 14 percent of all reported infectious disease and 98 percent of all zoonoses in Germany. 55 percent of infections are acquired from meat and poultry.

Recent incidence data are displayed at and are contrasted with those of the United States at

Another Promed post by Steve:

The relative importance of Eastern Equine Encephalitis [EEE] in the United States has been overshadowed by the emergence of neuroinvasive West Nile fever (WNF) virus infection. The graphs referenced below illustrate the relative incidence of older forms of arboviral encephalitis: Graph of encephalitis cases in the US
and the dominance of WNF since 2003: Graph of encephalitis cases versus West Nile fever in the US.

Another post in ProMED from Steve describing Cryptosporidiosis in Ireland with a graph comparing rates in neighboring regions:

Background data:
Rates of Cryptosporiosis in Ireland and adjacent countries have been similar since the 1980’s.

Cryptosporidiosis became a notifiable disease in Ireland in January 2004, with 61 percent of cases having been reported during April to June [?2004]. A total of 5 outbreaks (25 outbreak cases) was reported in 2004. A total of 6 outbreaks (49 outbreak cases) was reported in 2005.

Prevalence surveys:
4 percent of gastroenteritis among children.
4 percent of diarrhea requiring hospitalization among Dublin Children 1987.
149 cases were reported among children below age 2 years in 2002; 106 in 2003.
64 patients were hospitalized for cryptosporidiosis in 1999; 57 in 2000; 65 in
2001; 53 in 2002. 70 cases (18 per 100 000) were reported by the South-Eastern Health Board in 2001. 66 cases (19 per 100 000) were reported by the Western Health Board in 2001.

Infected local shellfish species:
_Mytilus edulis_ (Common mussel) in the Sligo Area
_Dreissena polymorpha_ (Zebra mussel) in the Shannon River drainage area.

Notable outbreaks:
2002 - Outbreaks (3 outbreaks, 65 cases) were reported, including a water-borne outbreak more than 32 cases) in the Midland region.
2005 - An outbreak (31 cases) in the western region was associated with contaminated water.
2007 - An outbreak (125 cases) was reported in Galway.

Northern Ireland:
Notable outbreaks:
2000 - An outbreak (121 confirmed cases) was reported - with most cases in the County Antrim and County Down towns of Lisburn and Bangor.
2001 - An outbreak (230 confirmed cases) was reported in Belfast - source unknown.
2001 - An outbreak (57 cases) was reported in Ulster - source unknown.
2001 - An outbreak (110 cases) was reported in Eastern Health Board - ascribed to contamination of water from the Dunmore treatment facility.
2003 - An outbreak (391 cases) was reported among British tourists at a hotel in Majorca - 179 from England and Wales, 170 from Scotland and 42 from Northern Ireland.
2004 - An outbreak (14 cases) was reported in the Midland Health Board - ascribed to a contaminated water supply.

Regarding the recent outbreak in Apulia, gradual decreases in measles rates may reflect the fact that vaccine coverage for Italy has exceded 80% only since 2002. Click on graph:
Outbreaks of measles in Italy:
1996 to 1997 - An outbreak (1,642 cases seen at one hospital) was reported in Palermo.
2002 - An outbreak (24,000 clinical cases; 368 hospitalized; 13 encephalitis; 3 fatal) was reported in Campania. The rate among children below age 15 years was 3,750 per 100,000.
2003 - An outbreak (1,217 cases) was reported in Calabria and Puglia.
2003 - An outbreak (26 cases) was reported in South Tyrol.
2006 - An outbreak (40 cases) was reported in Grosseto.
2006 - Outbreaks (187 cases in 3 outbreaks) were reported in the Roma / Sinti populations of South Tyrol (17 cases), Sardinia (9 cases) and Lazio (161 cases).