TY - JOUR T1 - Evaluation of the added value of viral genomic information for predicting severity of influenza infection JF - BMC Infectious Diseases Y1 - 2021 A1 - Nina Van Goethem A1 - Annie Robert A1 - Nathalie Bossuyt A1 - Laura Van Poelvoorde A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Sigrid C.J. De Keersmaecker A1 - Brecht Devleesschauwer A1 - Isabelle Thomas A1 - Kevin Vanneste A1 - Nancy Roosens A1 - Herman Van Oyen VL - 21 CP - 1 M3 - 10.1186/s12879-021-06510-z ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Monitoring of human coronaviruses in Belgian primary care and hospitals, 2015-20: a surveillance study. JF - Lancet Microbe Y1 - 2021 A1 - Nathalie Fischer A1 - Nicolas Dauby A1 - Nathalie Bossuyt A1 - Marijke Reynders A1 - Gerard, Michèle A1 - Lacor, Patrick A1 - Siel Daelemans A1 - Bénédicte Lissoir A1 - Xavier Holemans A1 - Koen Magerman A1 - Door Jouck A1 - Marc Bourgeois A1 - Bénédicte Delaere A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Steven Van Gucht A1 - Isabelle Thomas A1 - Cyril Barbezange A1 - Lorenzo Subissi AB -

Background: Seasonal human coronaviruses (hCoVs) broadly circulate in humans. Their epidemiology and effect on the spread of emerging coronaviruses has been neglected thus far. We aimed to elucidate the epidemiology and burden of disease of seasonal hCoVs OC43, NL63, and 229E in patients in primary care and hospitals in Belgium between 2015 and 2020.

Methods: We retrospectively analysed data from the national influenza surveillance networks in Belgium during the winter seasons of 2015-20. Respiratory specimens were collected through the severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) and the influenza-like illness networks from patients with acute respiratory illness with onset within the previous 10 days, with measured or reported fever of 38°C or greater, cough, or dyspnoea; and for patients admitted to hospital for at least one night. Potential risk factors were recorded and patients who were admitted to hospital were followed up for the occurrence of complications or death for the length of their hospital stay. All samples were analysed by multiplex quantitative RT-PCRs for respiratory viruses, including seasonal hCoVs OC43, NL63, and 229E. We estimated the prevalence and incidence of seasonal hCoV infection, with or without co-infection with other respiratory viruses. We evaluated the association between co-infections and potential risk factors with complications or death in patients admitted to hospital with seasonal hCoV infections by age group. Samples received from week 8, 2020, were tested for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Findings: 2573 primary care and 6494 hospital samples were included in the study. 161 (6·3%) of 2573 patients in primary care and 371 (5·7%) of 6494 patients admitted to hospital were infected with a seasonal hCoV. OC43 was the seasonal hCoV with the highest prevalence across age groups and highest incidence in children admitted to hospital who were younger than 5 years (incidence 9·0 [95% CI 7·2-11·2] per 100 000 person-months) and adults older than 65 years (2·6 [2·1-3·2] per 100 000 person-months). Among 262 patients admitted to hospital with seasonal hCoV infection and with complete information on potential risk factors, 66 (73·3%) of 90 patients who had complications or died also had at least one potential risk factor (p=0·0064). Complications in children younger than 5 years were associated with co-infection (24 [36·4%] of 66; p=0·017), and in teenagers and adults (≥15 years), more complications arose in patients with a single hCoV infection (49 [45·0%] of 109; p=0·0097). In early 2020, the Belgian SARI surveillance detected the first SARS-CoV-2-positive sample concomitantly with the first confirmed COVID-19 case with no travel history to China.

Interpretation: The main burden of severe seasonal hCoV infection lies with children younger than 5 years with co-infections and adults aged 65 years and older with pre-existing comorbidities. These age and patient groups should be targeted for enhanced observation when in medical care and in possible future vaccination strategies, and co-infections in children younger than 5 years should be considered during diagnosis and treatment. Our findings support the use of national influenza surveillance systems for seasonal hCoV monitoring and early detection, and monitoring of emerging coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV-2.

Funding: Belgian Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety, and Environment; Belgian National Insurance Health Care (Institut national d'assurance maladie-invalidité/Rijksinstituut voor ziekte-en invaliditeitsverzekering); and Regional Health Authorities (Flanders Agentschap zorg en gezondheid, Brussels Commission communautaire commune, Wallonia Agence pour une vie de qualité).

VL - 2 CP - 3 M3 - 10.1016/S2666-5247(20)30221-4 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - One year of laboratory-based COVID-19 surveillance system in Belgium: main indicators and performance of the laboratories (March 2020-21). JF - Arch Public Health Y1 - 2021 A1 - Marjan Meurisse A1 - Adrien Lajot A1 - Yves Dupont A1 - Marie Lesenfants A1 - Sofieke Klamer A1 - Javiera Rebolledo A1 - Tinne Lernout A1 - Mathias Leroy A1 - Arnaud Capron A1 - Johan Van Bussel A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Emmanuel André A1 - Kaat Kehoe A1 - Luc Waumans A1 - Van Acker, Jos A1 - Vandenberg, Olivier A1 - Van den Wijngaert, Sigi A1 - Ann Verdonck A1 - Lize Cuypers A1 - Dieter Van Cauteren KW - Belgium; COVID-19; Laboratory-based surveillance; SARS-CoV-2 AB -

BACKGROUND: With the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an existing national laboratory-based surveillance system was adapted to daily monitor the epidemiological situation of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the Belgium by following the number of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infections, the number of performed tests and the positivity ratio. We present these main indicators of the surveillance over a one-year period as well as the impact of the performance of the laboratories, regarding speed of processing the samples and reporting results, for surveillance.

METHODS: We describe the evolution of test capacity, testing strategy and the data collection methods during the first year of the epidemic in Belgium.

RESULTS: Between the 1 of March 2020 and the 28 of February 2021, 9,487,470 tests and 773,078 COVID-19 laboratory confirmed cases were reported. Two epidemic waves occurred, with a peak in April and October 2020. The capacity and performance of the laboratories improved continuously during 2020 resulting in a high level performance. Since the end of November 2020 90 to 95% of the test results are reported at the latest the day after sampling was performed.

CONCLUSIONS: Thanks to the effort of all laboratories a performant exhaustive national laboratory-based surveillance system to monitor the epidemiological situation of SARS-CoV-2 was set up in Belgium in 2020. On top of expanding the number of laboratories performing diagnostics and significantly increasing the test capacity in Belgium, turnaround times between sampling and testing as well as reporting were optimized over the first year of this pandemic.

VL - 79 CP - 1 M3 - 10.1186/s13690-021-00704-2 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Prioritisation for future surveillance, prevention and control of 98 communicable diseases in Belgium: a 2018 multi-criteria decision analysis study JF - BMC Public Health Y1 - 2021 A1 - Sofieke Klamer A1 - Nina Van Goethem A1 - Daniel Thomas A1 - Els Duysburgh A1 - Toon Braeye A1 - Sophie Quoilin VL - 21 CP - 1 M3 - 10.1186/s12889-020-09566-9 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Spotlight influenza: Extending influenza surveillance to detect non-influenza respiratory viruses of public health relevance: analysis of surveillance data, Belgium, 2015 to 2019. JF - Euro Surveill Y1 - 2021 A1 - Lorenzo Subissi A1 - Nathalie Bossuyt A1 - Marijke Reynders A1 - Gerard, Michèle A1 - Nicolas Dauby A1 - Lacor, Patrick A1 - Siel Daelemans A1 - Bénédicte Lissoir A1 - Xavier Holemans A1 - Koen Magerman A1 - Door Jouck A1 - Marc Bourgeois A1 - Bénédicte Delaere A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Steven Van Gucht A1 - Isabelle Thomas A1 - Cyril Barbezange KW - Belgium KW - Child KW - Humans KW - Infant KW - Influenza, Human KW - Orthomyxoviridae KW - public health KW - Respiratory Tract Infections KW - Sentinel Surveillance KW - Viruses AB -

BackgroundSeasonal influenza-like illness (ILI) affects millions of people yearly. Severe acute respiratory infections (SARI), mainly influenza, are a leading cause of hospitalisation and mortality. Increasing evidence indicates that non-influenza respiratory viruses (NIRV) also contribute to the burden of SARI. In Belgium, SARI surveillance by a network of sentinel hospitals has been ongoing since 2011.AimWe report the results of using in-house multiplex qPCR for the detection of a flexible panel of viruses in respiratory ILI and SARI samples and the estimated incidence rates of SARI associated with each virus.MethodsWe defined ILI as an illness with onset of fever and cough or dyspnoea. SARI was defined as an illness requiring hospitalisation with onset of fever and cough or dyspnoea within the previous 10 days. Samples were collected in four winter seasons and tested by multiplex qPCR for influenza virus and NIRV. Using catchment population estimates, we calculated incidence rates of SARI associated with each virus.ResultsOne third of the SARI cases were positive for NIRV, reaching 49.4% among children younger than 15 years. In children younger than 5 years, incidence rates of NIRV-associated SARI were twice that of influenza (103.5 vs 57.6/100,000 person-months); co-infections with several NIRV, respiratory syncytial viruses, human metapneumoviruses and picornaviruses contributed most (33.1, 13.6, 15.8 and 18.2/100,000 person-months, respectively).ConclusionEarly testing for NIRV could be beneficial to clinical management of SARI patients, especially in children younger than 5 years, for whom the burden of NIRV-associated disease exceeds that of influenza.

VL - 26 CP - 38 M3 - 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2021.26.38.2001104 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Vaccine effectiveness against infection and onwards transmission of COVID-19: Analysis of Belgian contact tracing data, January-June 2021. JF - Vaccine Y1 - 2021 A1 - Toon Braeye A1 - Laura Cornelissen A1 - Lucy Catteau A1 - Freek Haarhuis A1 - Kristiaan Proesmans A1 - Karin De Ridder A1 - Achille Djiena A1 - Romain Mahieu A1 - Frances De Leeuw A1 - Alex Dreuw A1 - Hammami, Naïma A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Herman Van Oyen A1 - Chloé Wyndham-Thomas A1 - Dieter Van Cauteren KW - Belgium KW - Contact Tracing KW - COVID-19 KW - Humans KW - SARS-CoV-2 KW - vaccines AB -

In Belgium, high-risk contacts of an infected person were offered PCR-testing irrespective of their vaccination status. We estimated vaccine effectiveness (VE) against infection and onwards transmission, controlling for previous infections, household-exposure and temporal trends. We included 301,741 tests from 25 January to 24 June 2021. Full-schedule vaccination was associated with significant protection against infection. In addition, mRNA-vaccines reduced onward transmission: VE-estimates increased to >90% when index and contact were fully vaccinated. The small number of viral-vector vaccines included limited interpretability.

VL - 39 CP - 39 M3 - 10.1016/j.vaccine.2021.08.060 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Capturing respiratory syncytial virus season in Belgium using the influenza severe acute respiratory infection surveillance network, season 2018/19. JF - Euro Surveill Y1 - 2020 A1 - Lorenzo Subissi A1 - Nathalie Bossuyt A1 - Marijke Reynders A1 - Gerard, Michèle A1 - Nicolas Dauby A1 - Marc Bourgeois A1 - Bénédicte Delaere A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Steven Van Gucht A1 - Isabelle Thomas A1 - Cyril Barbezange KW - ADOLESCENT KW - Adult KW - Aged KW - Belgium KW - Child KW - Child, Preschool KW - Female KW - Fever KW - Hospitalization KW - Humans KW - incidence KW - Infant KW - Influenza, Human KW - Male KW - middle aged KW - Pilot Projects KW - Respiratory Syncytial Virus Infections KW - Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Human KW - Respiratory Tract Infections KW - Risk Factors KW - Seasons KW - Sentinel Surveillance KW - Young adult AB -

BackgroundRespiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is a common cause of severe respiratory illness in young children (< 5 years old) and older adults (≥ 65 years old) leading the World Health Organization (WHO) to recommend the implementation of a dedicated surveillance in countries.AimWe tested the capacity of the severe acute respiratory infection (SARI) hospital network to contribute to RSV surveillance in Belgium.MethodsDuring the 2018/19 influenza season, we started the SARI surveillance for influenza in Belgium in week 40, earlier than in the past, to follow RSV activity, which usually precedes influenza virus circulation. While the WHO SARI case definition for influenza normally used by the SARI hospital network was employed, flexibility over the fever criterion was allowed, so patients without fever but meeting the other case definition criteria could be included in the surveillance.ResultsBetween weeks 40 2018 and 2 2019, we received 508 samples from SARI patients. We found an overall RSV detection rate of 62.4% (317/508), with rates varying depending on the age group: 77.6% in children aged < 5 years (253/326) and 34.4% in adults aged ≥ 65 years (44/128). Over 90% of the RSV-positive samples also positive for another tested respiratory virus (80/85) were from children aged < 5 years. Differences were also noted between age groups for symptoms, comorbidities and complications.ConclusionWith only marginal modifications in the case definition and the period of surveillance, the Belgian SARI network would be able to substantially contribute to RSV surveillance and burden evaluation in children and older adults, the two groups of particular interest for WHO.

VL - 25 CP - 39 M3 - 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.39.1900627 ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Expert consultation on public health needs related to surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater, Summary report of Virtual meeting, 30 November 2020, WHO Y1 - 2020 A1 - Marie Lesenfants A1 - Sophie Quoilin KW - COVID-19 KW - ENVIRONMENTAL SURVEILLANCE KW - public health KW - wastewater AB -

This report summarizes the findings of the Expert consultation on public health needs related to surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater that was organized by the WHO European Centre for Environment and Health on 30 November 2020 in a virtual format. It aimed to support Member State authorities by facilitating exchange on the use, usefulness and limitations of SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in wastewater from a public health perspective, based on practices and experiences emerging in countries. Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater can provide important complementary and independent information in public health decision-making in the context of the pandemic. The health sector is the end-user of the information and therefore needs to take the lead in designing surveillance programmes, merging and linking the data with other surveillance platforms, and coordinating interpretation and communication of the findings.

PB - WHO CY - Europe ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Milieumonitoring van poliovirussen in België - Haalbaarheidsstudie Y1 - 2020 A1 - Marie Lesenfants A1 - Chloé Wyndham-Thomas A1 - Sophie Quoilin AB -

Het milieumonitoren wordt voorgesteld als één van de mogelijke oplossingen ter verbetering van de kwaliteit van Poliosurveillance in België.

In deze context, werd aan Sciensano door het kabinet van de minister van Volksgezondheid een haalbaarheidsonderzoek mbt milieumonitoring gevraagd. Dit onderzoek werd gefinaliseerd in januari 2020. De samenvatting van het onderzoek bevindt zich in bijlage van deze fiche.

Het doel van de  milieumonitoring is dat wat in het haalbaarheidsonderzoek beoogt werd, is om de afwezigheid van circulerend poliovirus (PV) te tonen, en snel elke mogelijkse herintroductie te detecteren. De aanwezigheid van “PEF” instellingen, die poliovirus bijhouden, (GSK Rixensart en Fripharma), onderstreept het belang van dit soort instrument.

De meerwaarde van een milieumonitoring ligt ook in zijn complementariteit met het huidig toezicht. De milieumonitoring heeft het voordeel dat het een vroege waarschuwing mogelijk maakt, met een snellere detectie van het PV na zijn introductie bij de populatie. Bovendien heeft dit systeem ook het voordeel meer specifieke personen en gebieden van de risicozones van polio af te dekken.

Het in de haalbarheidsonderzoek  voorgestelde systeem van milieumonitoring biedt flexibiliteit in zijn implementatie. Concreet zal het systeem geïntensiveerd kunnen worden in geval van een incident met betrekking tot PV (bvb. het accidenteel vrijkomen in het milieu), of uitgebreid worden tot betrekking van andere pathogenen (Norovirus, rotavirus….), en dit afhangelijk van de prioriteiten van de volksgezondheid.

Het design dat we voorstellen voor het systeem bied ook een voldoende sensibiliteit aan.

We hebben meerdere gebieden weerhouden voor milieumonitoringnetwerk in België : o.a. het gebied GSK Rixensart voor het meest kritische would-be PEF, het onthaalcenter voor het opvangen van asielzoekers “Klein kasteeltje” et het Congolese kwartier “Matonge” in Brussel. Om een goede vertegenwoordiging van de bevolking te waarborgen zouden twee waterzuiveringsstations, één in Brussel en één in Antwerpen worden opgenomen in het monitoringnetwerk.

De studie bevestigd de technische haalbaarheid van het controleren van de verschillende rioleringsgebieden (riolen et waterzuiveringsstations), voorstellen van een aangepaste steekproefplan, en dit in een vierjarig project, met jaarlijkse herbeoordeling.

De jaarlijkse kost voor het monitoringsproject is geschat tussen 143 000€ en 166 500€ voor de periode van 4 jaar, naargelang het gekozen scenario. Het grootste deel van het budget (~70%) zullen gaan naar het analyseren van de stalen (personeelskosten, labomaterieel, en de kost van de analyses).

ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Perceived utility and feasibility of pathogen genomics for public health practice: a survey among public health professionals working in the field of infectious diseases, Belgium, 2019 JF - BMC Public Health Y1 - 2020 A1 - Nina Van Goethem A1 - Marc J Struelens A1 - Sigrid C.J. De Keersmaecker A1 - Nancy Roosens A1 - Annie Robert A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Herman Van Oyen A1 - Brecht Devleesschauwer KW - Next-generation sequencing KW - pathogen genomics KW - Public Health Practice KW - survey KW - whole-genome sequencing AB -

Background

Pathogen genomics is increasingly being translated from the research setting into the activities of public health professionals operating at different levels. This survey aims to appraise the literacy level and gather the opinions of public health experts and allied professionals working in the field of infectious diseases in Belgium concerning the implementation of next-generation sequencing (NGS) in public health practice.

Methods

In May 2019, Belgian public health and healthcare professionals were invited to complete an online survey containing eight main topics including background questions, general attitude towards pathogen genomics for public health practice and main concerns, genomic literacy, current and planned NGS activities, place of NGS in diagnostic microbiology pathways, data sharing obstacles, end-user requirements, and key drivers for the implementation of NGS. Descriptive statistics were used to report on the frequency distribution of multiple choice responses whereas thematic analysis was used to analyze free text responses. A multivariable logistic regression model was constructed to identify important predictors for a positive attitude towards the implementation of pathogen genomics in public health practice.

Results

146 out of the 753 invited public health professionals completed the survey. 63% of respondents indicated that public health agencies should be using genomics to understand and control infectious diseases. Having a high level of expertise in the field of pathogen genomics was the strongest predictor of a positive attitude (OR = 4.04, 95% CI = 1.11 – 17.23). A significantly higher proportion of data providers indicated to have followed training in the field of pathogen genomics compared to data end-users (p < 0.001). Overall, 79% of participants expressed interest in receiving further training. Main concerns were related to the cost of sequencing technologies, data sharing, data integration, interdisciplinary working, and bioinformatics expertise.

Conclusions

Belgian health professionals expressed favorable views about implementation of pathogen genomics in their work activities related to infectious disease surveillance and control. They expressed the need for suitable training initiatives to strengthen their competences in the field. Their perception of the utility and feasibility of pathogen genomics for public health purposes will be a key driver for its further implementation.

VL - 20 CP - 1 M3 - 10.1186/s12889-020-09428-4 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Perceived utility and feasibility of pathogen genomics for public health practice: a survey among public health professionals working in the field of infectious diseases, Belgium, 2019 JF - BMC Public Health Y1 - 2020 A1 - Nina Van Goethem A1 - M. J. Struelens A1 - Sigrid C.J. De Keersmaecker A1 - Nancy Roosens A1 - A. Robert A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Herman Van Oyen A1 - Brecht Devleesschauwer VL - 20 CP - 1 M3 - 10.1186/s12889-020-09428-4 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Rapid establishment of a national surveillance of COVID-19 hospitalizations in Belgium JF - Archives of Public Health Y1 - 2020 A1 - Nina Van Goethem A1 - Aline Vilain A1 - Chloé Wyndham-Thomas A1 - Jessika Deblonde A1 - Nathalie Bossuyt A1 - Tinne Lernout A1 - Javiera Rebolledo A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Vincent Melis A1 - Dominique Van Beckhoven VL - 78 CP - 1 M3 - 10.1186/s13690-020-00505-z ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Surveillance des infections sexuellement transmissibles - Données pour la période 2014-2016 Y1 - 2020 A1 - Wim Vanden Berghe A1 - Irith De Baetselier A1 - Dieter Van Cauteren A1 - S Moreels A1 - André Sasse A1 - Sophie Quoilin KW - Chlamydia Infections KW - Gonorrhea KW - seksueel overdraagbare aandoeningen KW - Syphilis PB - Sciensano CY - Brussels, Belgium ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Surveillance environnementale des Poliovirus en Belgique - Etude de faisabilité Y1 - 2020 A1 - Marie Lesenfants A1 - Chloé Wyndham-Thomas A1 - Sophie Quoilin AB -

La surveillance environnementale est proposée comme l’une des solutions possibles à l’amélioration la qualité de la Surveillance Polio en Belgique.

Dans ce sens, une étude de faisabilité relative à la Surveillance environnementale Polio a été commanditée à Sciensano, par le cabinet de la ministre de la Santé publique. L’étude a été finalisée en janvier 2020.

La surveillance environnementale envisagée par l’étude a pour objectif de démontrer l’absence de poliovirus (PV) circulants, ainsi que de détecter rapidement, le cas échant, toute réintroduction du virus. La présence d’établissements « PEF », détenteurs de poliovirus en Belgique (GSK Rixensart et Fri-pharma), renforce l’importance de disposer d’un tel outil.

La plus-value d’une surveillance environnementale réside aussi dans sa complémentarité à la surveillance actuelle. Elle offre notamment l’avantage de jouer un rôle d’avertissement précoce, avec une détection plus rapide du PV après son introduction dans la population. Un autre avantage est que le système permet de couvrir préférentiellement les personnes et les zones les plus à risque de PV.

Le système de surveillance environnementale proposé dans l’étude de faisabilité  offre une flexibilité  de mise en œuvre. Concrètement, le système pourra être intensifié en cas d’incident relatif au PV (p.ex déversement accidentel dans l’environnement), ou étendu à la surveillance d’autres pathogènes (p. ex. norovirus, rotavirus…), et ce, selon les priorités de santé publique.

Le design proposé assure aussi une sensibilité de détection suffisante.

Le réseau de surveillance se composerait des sites suivants : le site GSK Rixensart, en tant que « would-be-PEF » le plus critique, le centre d’accueil pour demandeurs d’asile « Petit Château » et le quartier congolais « Matonge » de Bruxelles. Pour assurer une bonne représentativité de la population, deux stations d’épuration des eaux usées, une à Bruxelles, et la seconde à Anvers, seraient également incluses au réseau de surveillance.

L’étude réalisée confirme la faisabilité technique de contrôler ces différents endroits du réseau d’assainissement belge (égouts et stations d’épuration des eaux usées), propose un plan d’échantillonnage adapté, le tout décliné en un projet sur 4 ans, avec réévaluation annuelle.

Le coût annuel pour le projet de surveillance environnementale est estimé entre 143 000 € et 166 500 € pour la période de 4 ans, selon le scénario choisi. La part principale de ce budget (~70%) revient à l’analyse des échantillons (ressources humaines, matériel de laboratoire, et coûts des analyses).

ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Surveillance van seksueel overdraagbare aandoeningen - Gegevens voor de periode 2014-2016 Y1 - 2020 A1 - Wim Vanden Berghe A1 - Irith De Baetselier A1 - Dieter Van Cauteren A1 - S Moreels A1 - André Sasse A1 - Sophie Quoilin KW - Chlamydia Infections KW - Gonorrhea KW - seksueel overdraagbare aandoeningen KW - Syphilis PB - Sciensano CY - Brussels, Belgium ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Incidence estimation from sentinel surveillance data; a simulation study and application to data from the Belgian laboratory sentinel surveillance JF - BMC Public Health Y1 - 2019 A1 - Toon Braeye A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Hens, Niel VL - 19 CP - 1 M3 - 10.1186/s12889-019-7279-y ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Low hepatitis C prevalence in Belgium: implications for treatment reimbursement and scale up. JF - BMC Public Health Y1 - 2019 A1 - Amber Litzroth A1 - Vanessa Suin A1 - Chloé Wyndham-Thomas A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Gaetan Muyldermans A1 - Thomas Vanwolleghem A1 - Kabamba-Mukadi, Benoît A1 - Vera Verburgh A1 - Marjorie Meurisse A1 - Steven Van Gucht A1 - Veronik Hutse AB -

BACKGROUND: Prevalence data of chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection are needed to estimate the budgetary impact of reimbursement of direct-acting antivirals (DAAs). In Belgium, the restricted reimbursement criteria are mainly guided by regional seroprevalence estimates of 0.87% from 1993 to 1994. In this first Belgian nationwide HCV prevalence study, we set out to update the seroprevalence and prevalence of chronic HCV infection estimates in the Belgian general population in order to guide decisions on DAA reimbursement.

METHODS: Residual sera were collected through clinical laboratories. We collected data on age, sex and district. HCV antibody status was determined with ELISA and confirmed with a line-immunoassay (LIA). In specimens with undetermined or positive LIA result, HCV viral load was measured. Specimens were classified seronegative, seropositive with resolved infection, indicative of chronic infection and with undetermined HCV status according to the test outcomes. Results were standardized for age, sex and population per district, and adjusted for clustered sampling.

RESULTS: In total 3209 specimens, collected by 28 laboratories, were tested. HCV seropositivity in the Belgian general population was estimated to be 0.22% (95% CI: 0.09-0.54%), and prevalence of chronic HCV infection 0.12% (95% CI: 0.03-0.41). In individuals of 20 years and older, these estimates were 0.26% (95% CI: 0.10-0.64%) and 0.13% (95% CI: 0.04-0.43), respectively. Of the total estimated number of HCV seropositive individuals in Belgium, 66% were between 50 and 69 years old.

CONCLUSIONS: Prevalence of HCV seropositivity and chronic infection in the Belgian general population were low and comparable to many surrounding countries. These adjusted prevalences can help estimate the cost of reimbursement of DAAs and invite Belgian policy makers to accelerate the scaling up of reimbursement, giving all chronically infected HCV patients a more timely access to treatment.

VL - 19 CP - 1 M3 - 10.1186/s12889-018-6347-z ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Surveillance van congenitale infecties in Vlaanderen Y1 - 2019 A1 - Eline De Jonghe A1 - Nathalie Bossuyt A1 - Sophie Quoilin KW - congenital infections KW - congenitale infecties KW - infections KW - infections congénitales PB - Sciensano CY - Brussel ER - TY - Generic T1 - Suspected Kingella Kingae outbreak in a Belgian Day-Care Center Y1 - 2019 A1 - Chloé Wyndham-Thomas A1 - Myriam Boreux A1 - Schirvel, Carole A1 - Jean-Marc Senterre A1 - Sigrid C.J. De Keersmaecker A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Julie Frère KW - Clustering KW - Kingella Kingae KW - Osteoarthritis AB -

With the improvement of culture and molecular techniques, infections by the fastidious gram-negative coccobacillus Kingella kingae are increasingly diagnosed. The pathogen is now recognized as a major cause of osteoarticular infections in children. K.kingae clusters in day-care facilities have been previously reported, but in limited numbers, and outbreak control measures to apply remain unclear. Here we describe a cluster of 3 acute osteo-articular infections in a Wallonia-based day-care center occurring within a 15 days interval in 2018.

JF - ESPID ER - TY - JOUR T1 - The value of seroprevalence data as surveillance tool for Lyme borreliosis in the general population: the experience of Belgium JF - BMC Public Health Y1 - 2019 A1 - Tinne Lernout A1 - Benoît Kabamba-Mukadi A1 - Saegeman, Veroniek A1 - Marie Tré-Hardy A1 - Morgane de Laveleye A1 - Tommi Asikainen A1 - Ram Benny Dessau A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Amber Litzroth VL - 19 CP - 1 M3 - 10.1186/s12889-019-6914-y ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Distribution of HCV genotypes in Belgium from 2008 to 2015. JF - PLoS One Y1 - 2018 A1 - Lobna Bouacida A1 - Vanessa Suin A1 - Veronik Hutse A1 - Michaël Boudewijns A1 - Reinoud Cartuyvels A1 - Laurent Debaisieux A1 - Emmanuel De Laere A1 - Hallin, Marie A1 - Nicolas Hougardy A1 - Lagrou, Katrien A1 - Els Oris A1 - Padalko, Elizaveta A1 - Marijke Reynders A1 - Gatien Roussel A1 - Jean-Marc Senterre A1 - Michel Stalpaert A1 - Dominique Ursi A1 - Carl Vael A1 - Vaira, Dolorès A1 - Van Acker, Jos A1 - Walter Verstrepen A1 - Steven Van Gucht A1 - Kabamba, Benoît A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Gaetan Muyldermans KW - hepatitis C virus AB -

BACKGROUND: The knowledge of circulating HCV genotypes and subtypes in a country is crucial to guide antiviral therapy and to understand local epidemiology. Studies investigating circulating HCV genotypes and their trends have been conducted in Belgium. However they are outdated, lack nationwide representativeness or were not conducted in the general population.

METHODS: In order to determine the distribution of different circulating HCV genotypes in Belgium, we conducted a multicentre study with all the 19 Belgian laboratories performing reimbursed HCV genotyping assays. Available genotype and subtype data were collected for the period from 2008 till 2015. Furthermore, a limited number of other variables were collected: some demographic characteristics from the patients and the laboratory technique used for the determination of the HCV genotype.

RESULTS: For the study period, 11,033 unique records collected by the participating laboratories were used for further investigation. HCV genotype 1 was the most prevalent (53.6%) genotype in Belgium, with G1a and G1b representing 19.7% and 31.6%, respectively. Genotype 3 was the next most prevalent (22.0%). Further, genotype 4, 2, and 5 were responsible for respectively 16.1%, 6.2%, and 1.9% of HCV infections. Genotype 6 and 7 comprise the remaining <1%. Throughout the years, a stable distribution was observed for most genotypes. Only for genotype 5, a decrease as a function of the year of analysis was observed, with respectively 3.6% for 2008, 2.3% for 2009 and 1.6% for the remaining years. The overall M:F ratio was 1.59 and was mainly driven by the high M:F ratio of 3.03 for patients infected with genotype 3. Patients infected with genotype 3 are also younger (mean age 41.7 years) than patients infected with other genotypes (mean age above 50 years for all genotypes). The patients for whom a genotyping assay was performed in 2008 were younger than those from 2015. Geographical distribution demonstrates that an important number of genotyped HCV patients live outside the Belgian metropolitan cities.

CONCLUSION: This national monitoring study allowed a clear and objective view of the circulating HCV genotypes in Belgium and will help health authorities in the establishment of cost effectiveness determinations before implementation of new treatment strategies. This baseline characterization of the circulating genotypes is indispensable for a continuous surveillance, especially for the investigation of the possible impact of migration from endemic regions and prior to the increasing use of highly potent direct-acting antiviral (DAA) agents.

VL - 13 CP - 12 M3 - 10.1371/journal.pone.0207584 ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Infectieziekten bij kinderen die voorkomen kunnen worden door vaccinatie | Jaaroverzicht 2016 Y1 - 2018 A1 - Elise Mendes da Costa A1 - Tine Grammens A1 - Amber Litzroth A1 - Gaetan Muyldermans A1 - Tessa Braeckman A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Martine Sabbe A1 - Nele Boon ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Maladies infectieuses à prévention vaccinale. Synthèse annuelle 2016 Y1 - 2018 A1 - Mendes da Costa, Elise A1 - Tine Grammens A1 - Amber Litzroth A1 - Gaetan Muyldermans A1 - Tessa Braeckman A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Martine Sabbe A1 - Nele Boon ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Virological Surveillance of Influenza in Belgium Season 2017-2018 Y1 - 2018 A1 - Isabelle Thomas A1 - Cyril Barbezange A1 - Steven Van Gucht A1 - Jeannine Weyckmans A1 - Ilham Fdillate A1 - Reinout Van Eycken A1 - Assia Hamouda A1 - Nathalie Bossuyt A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Viviane Van Casteren A1 - Yolande Pirson VL - ISSN number: D/2018/14.440/40 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Burden of salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis and listeriosis: a time series analysis, Belgium, 2012 to 2020. JF - Euro Surveill Y1 - 2017 A1 - Maertens de Noordhout, Charline A1 - Brecht Devleesschauwer A1 - J A Haagsma A1 - A. H. Havelaar A1 - Sophie Bertrand A1 - Vandenberg, Olivier A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Brandt, Patrick T A1 - Speybroeck, Niko KW - burden KW - Campylobacter KW - Listeria KW - Salmonella AB -

Salmonellosis, campylobacteriosis and listeriosis are food-borne diseases. We estimated and forecasted the number of cases of these three diseases in Belgium from 2012 to 2020, and calculated the corresponding number of disability-adjusted life years (DALYs). The salmonellosis time series was fitted with a Bai and Perron two-breakpoint model, while a dynamic linear model was used for campylobacteriosis and a Poisson autoregressive model for listeriosis. The average monthly number of cases of salmonellosis was 264 (standard deviation (SD): 86) in 2012 and predicted to be 212 (SD: 87) in 2020; campylobacteriosis case numbers were 633 (SD: 81) and 1,081 (SD: 311); listeriosis case numbers were 5 (SD: 2) in 2012 and 6 (SD: 3) in 2014. After applying correction factors, the estimated DALYs for salmonellosis were 102 (95% uncertainty interval (UI): 8-376) in 2012 and predicted to be 82 (95% UI: 6-310) in 2020; campylobacteriosis DALYs were 1,019 (95% UI: 137-3,181) and 1,736 (95% UI: 178-5,874); listeriosis DALYs were 208 (95% UI: 192-226) in 2012 and 252 (95% UI: 200-307) in 2014. New actions are needed to reduce the risk of food-borne infection with Campylobacter spp. because campylobacteriosis incidence may almost double through 2020.

VL - 22 CP - 38 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28935025?dopt=Abstract M3 - 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2017.22.38.30615 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Health crisis due to infectious and communicable diseases: European preparedness and response tools in an international context JF - Journal of Business Continuity & Emergency Planning Y1 - 2017 A1 - Patrick Mahy A1 - Jean Marc Collard A1 - Jean-Luc Gala A1 - Philippe Herman A1 - Dirk De Groof A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Myriam Sneyers KW - communicable KW - crisis KW - Diseases KW - health KW - Infectious KW - preparedness AB -

The combination of changes in eating habits, ways of living, globalisation, extensive travelling and the migration of millions of people around the world may be contributing to increased health risks. Certainly, health crises today are proving highly complex. More and more people are travelling and may carry with them unexpected virus vectors such as mosquitoes. Preparedness is challenging and there is a need for action plans to safeguard the growing at-risk population. Health crises can potentially affect a large proportion of the population and may lead to a significant increase in mortality or to an abnormally high death rate. This should be integrated into the general concept of national and international surveillance in order to provide a prepared response in the event of crisis. This paper provides an inventory of the relevant laws, guidelines and tools in Europe (and to a lesser degree, beyond), and proposes answers to the health crisis problems associated with infectious and communicable diseases. In crisis management, communication is an important factor to consider. This paper can serve as a tool for people involved in crisis preparedness.

VL - 10 CP - 4 M3 - http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/hsp/jbcep/2017/00000010/00000004/art00007 ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Seasonal influenza surveillance (Belgique/België/Belgium) : Résumé saison 2016-2017 - Overzicht seizoen 2016-2017 - Overview season 2016-2017 Y1 - 2017 A1 - Isabelle Thomas A1 - Cyril Barbezange A1 - Steven Van Gucht A1 - Nathalie Bossuyt A1 - Natalia Bustos Sierra A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Viviane Van Casteren A1 - Y. Pirson KW - 2016 KW - 2017 KW - Belgium KW - overview season KW - Seasonal influenza surveillance PB - WIV-ISP CY - Brussels, Belgium ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Consumptie-gerelateerde infectieziekten, 2014, België. Epidemiologische trends. Y1 - 2016 A1 - Toon Braeye A1 - Sophie Bertrand A1 - Wesley Mattheus A1 - Martiny, Delphine A1 - Piérard, Denis A1 - De Rauw, Klara A1 - Jan Verhaegen A1 - Delmée, Michel A1 - Laurence Delbrassinne A1 - Sarah Denayer A1 - Katelijne Dierick A1 - Melin,P. A1 - Van Esbroeck, Marjan A1 - Vandenberg, Olivier A1 - N Botteldoorn A1 - Veronik Hutse A1 - Sophie Quoilin KW - 2014 KW - België KW - Consumptie-gerelateerde infectieziekten KW - trends PB - WIV-ISP CY - Brussel, België ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Infectieziekten bij kinderen, die voorkomen kunnen worden door vaccinatie. Jaarrapport 2015 Y1 - 2016 A1 - Mendes da Costa,E. A1 - Tine Grammens A1 - Amber Litzroth A1 - Virginie Maes A1 - Gaetan Muyldermans A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Martine Sabbe A1 - Sophie Bertrand A1 - Marie-Luce Delforge A1 - I Desombere A1 - Veronik Hutse A1 - Helena Martini A1 - Martiny, Delphine A1 - Wesley Mattheus A1 - S Moreels A1 - Denis Piérard A1 - Carole Schirvel A1 - Béatrice Swennen A1 - Heidi Theeten A1 - Geert Top A1 - Jean-Marie Tremerie A1 - Viviane Van Casteren A1 - Steven Van Gucht A1 - Van Ranst, M A1 - Jan Verhaegen KW - 2015 KW - Infectieziekten KW - kinderen KW - vaccinatie PB - WIV-ISP CY - Brussel, België SN - 2507-0274 ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Infectieziekten bij kinderen die voorkomen kunnen worden door vaccinatie. Jaarrapport 2014 Y1 - 2016 A1 - Martine Sabbe A1 - Mendes da Costa,E. A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Sophie Bertrand A1 - Dediste,A. A1 - Marie-Luce Delforge A1 - Heymans,C. A1 - K Huygen A1 - Veronik Hutse A1 - Stéphanie Jacquinet A1 - Mak,R. A1 - Wesley Mattheus A1 - S Moreels A1 - Muyldermans,C. A1 - Denis Piérard A1 - Carole Schirvel A1 - Béatrice Swennen A1 - Heidi Theeten A1 - Geert Top A1 - Jean-Marie Tremerie A1 - Viviane Van Casteren A1 - Marc Van Ranst A1 - Jan Verhaegen A1 - Zinnen,V. KW - Infectieziekten KW - kinderen KW - vaccinatie PB - Johan Peeters/WIV-ISP CY - Bruxelles SN - D/2015/2505/75 U1 - 37182 ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Maladies infectieuses pédiatriques à prévention vaccinale. Rapport annuel 2015 Y1 - 2016 A1 - Mendes da Costa,E. A1 - Tine Grammens A1 - Amber Litzroth A1 - Virginie Maes A1 - Gaetan Muyldermans A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Martine Sabbe A1 - Sophie Bertrand A1 - Marie-Luce Delforge A1 - I Desombere A1 - Veronik Hutse A1 - Helena Martini A1 - Martiny, Delphine A1 - Wesley Mattheus A1 - S Moreels A1 - Denis Piérard A1 - Carole Schirvel A1 - Béatrice Swennen A1 - Heidi Theeten A1 - Geert Top A1 - Jean-Marie Tremerie A1 - Viviane Van Casteren A1 - Steven Van Gucht A1 - Van Ranst, M A1 - Jan Verhaegen KW - 2015 KW - Maladies infectieuses pédiatriques KW - Vaccination PB - WIV-ISP CY - Bruxelles, Belgique SN - 2507-0266 ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Rapport thématique. Maladies infectieuses liées à la consommation, 2014, Belgique. Tendances épidémiologiques. Y1 - 2016 A1 - Toon Braeye A1 - Sophie Bertrand A1 - Wesley Mattheus A1 - Martiny, Delphine A1 - Denis Piérard A1 - De Rauw, Klara A1 - Jan Verhaegen A1 - Delmée, Michel A1 - Laurence Delbrassinne A1 - Sarah Denayer A1 - Katelijne Dierick A1 - Melin,P. A1 - Van Esbroeck, Marjan A1 - Vandenberg, Olivier A1 - N Botteldoorn A1 - Veronik Hutse A1 - Sophie Quoilin KW - 2014 KW - Belgique KW - Maladies infectieuses liées à la consommation KW - tendances PB - WIV-ISP CY - Bruxelles, Belgique ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Epidemiological situation of Lyme borreliosis in Belgium, 2003 to 2012. JF - Arch Public Health Y1 - 2015 A1 - Corinne Bleyenheuft A1 - Tinne Lernout A1 - Nicolas Berger A1 - Javiera Rebolledo A1 - Mathias Leroy A1 - Robert, Annie A1 - Sophie Quoilin AB -

BACKGROUND: Some studies show that the incidence of Lyme borreliosis is increasing in different European countries. In order to evaluate if this is also the case in Belgium, different data sources were consulted to describe the epidemiology of Lyme borreliosis in the country during the last decade.

METHODS: Data from two databases were analyzed for the time period 2003-2010 and 2003-2012 for respectively: the registration of minimal clinical data from Belgian hospitals (principal and secondary diagnosis), and a sentinel laboratory network reporting positive laboratory results.

RESULTS: The number of hospitalized cases per year remained stable between 2003 and 2010, ranging from 970 (in 2008) to 1453 (in 2006), with a median of 1132.5 cases per year. Between 2003 and 2012, yearly fluctuations in the number of positive tests were reported by the sentinel laboratory network (with a minimum of 996 positive tests in 2007 and a maximum of 1651 positive tests in 2005), but there is no increasing trend over the study period (median = 1200.5 positive tests per year). The highest incidence rates of hospitalization and the highest reported incidence of positive laboratory results are registered in the provinces of Luxemburg, Limburg, Flemish Brabant and Antwerp, with a typical seasonal pattern (peak in September). The age groups affected most are those from 5 to 14 years and 45 to 69.

CONCLUSION: Based on hospital records and laboratory results, no increasing trend in Lyme disease was observed over the 2003-2012 period in Belgium. These results are in line with the stable incidence of erythema migrans reported by a sentinel network of general practitionners between 2003 and 2009. Multi-source surveillance of vector-borne diseases should be further implemented.

VL - 73 CP - 1 M3 - 10.1186/s13690-015-0079-7 ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Infectieziekten bij kinderen die voorkomen kunnen worden door vaccinatie. Jaarrapport 2013 Y1 - 2015 A1 - Tine Grammens A1 - Toon Braeye A1 - Corinne Bleyenheuft A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Sophie Bertrand A1 - Dediste,A. A1 - Detemmerman,L. A1 - K. De Schrijver A1 - Goubert,P. A1 - Heymans,C. A1 - K Huygen A1 - Veronik Hutse A1 - Stéphanie Jacquinet A1 - Mak,R. A1 - Wesley Mattheus A1 - S Moreels A1 - Gaetan Muyldermans A1 - Denis Piérard A1 - Carole Schirvel A1 - Béatrice Swennen A1 - Heidi Theeten A1 - Geert Top A1 - Jean-Marie Tremerie A1 - Viviane Van Casteren A1 - Steven Van Gucht A1 - Marc Van Ranst A1 - Jan Verhaegen A1 - Waegenaere,J. A1 - Zinnen,V. KW - Infectieziekten KW - kinderen PB - WIV-ISP CY - Brussel SN - D/2015/2505/05 U1 - 39200 ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Infectieziekten bij kinderen, die voorkomen kunnen worden door vaccinatie. Jaaroverzicht 2014 Y1 - 2015 A1 - Martine Sabbe A1 - Tine Grammens A1 - Toon Braeye A1 - Corinne Bleyenheuft A1 - Mendes da Costa, Elise A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Sophie Bertrand A1 - Dediste, Anne A1 - Delforge, Marie-Luce A1 - Heymans,C. A1 - Huygen, Kris A1 - Veronik Hutse A1 - Stéphanie Jacquinet A1 - Mak, Ruud A1 - Wesley Mattheus A1 - S Moreels A1 - Gaetan Muyldermans A1 - Denis Piérard A1 - Carole Schirvel A1 - Béatrice Swennen A1 - Heidi Theeten A1 - Top, Geert A1 - Jean-Marie Tremerie A1 - Viviane Van Casteren A1 - Van Ranst, M A1 - Verhaegen, J. A1 - Zinnen,V. KW - 2014 KW - Infectieziekten KW - kinderen KW - vaccinatie PB - WIV-ISP CY - Brussel, België ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Landscape and regional environmental analysis of the spatial distribution of hantavirus human cases in europe. JF - Front Public Health Y1 - 2015 A1 - Zeimes, Caroline Brigitte A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Henttonen, Heikki A1 - Lyytikäinen, Outi A1 - Vapalahti, Olli A1 - Reynes, Jean-Marc A1 - Reusken, Chantal A1 - Swart, Arno N A1 - Vainio, Kirsti A1 - Hjertqvist, Marika A1 - Vanwambeke, Sophie O AB -

BACKGROUND: In Europe, the most prevalent hantavirus, Puumala virus, is transmitted by bank voles and causes nephropathia epidemica in human. The European spatial distribution of nephropathia epidemica is investigated here for the first time with a rich set of environmental variables.

METHODS: The influence of variables at the landscape and regional level is studied through multilevel logistic regression, and further information on their effects across the different European ecoregions is obtained by comparing an overall niche model (boosted regression trees) with regressions by ecoregion.

RESULTS: The presence of nephropathia epidemica is likely in populated regions with well-connected forests, more intense vegetation activity, low soil water content, mild summers, and cold winters. In these regions, landscapes with a higher proportion of built-up areas in forest ecotones and lower minimum temperature in winter are expected to be more at risk. Climate and forest connectivity have a stronger effect at the regional level. If variables are staying at their current values, the models predict that nephropathia epidemica may know intensification but should not spread (although southern Sweden, the Norwegian coast, and the Netherlands should be kept under watch).

CONCLUSION: Models indicate that large-scale modeling can lead to a very high predictive power. At large scale, the effect of one variable on disease may follow three response scenarios: the effect may be the same across the entire study area, the effect can change according to the variable value, and the effect can change depending on local specificities. Each of these scenarios impacts large-scale modeling differently.

VL - 3 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25874194?dopt=Abstract M3 - 10.3389/fpubh.2015.00054 ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Maladies infectieuses pédiatriques à prévention vaccinale. Synthèse annuelle 2014 Y1 - 2015 A1 - Martine Sabbe A1 - Tine Grammens A1 - Toon Braeye A1 - Corinne Bleyenheuft A1 - Mendes da Costa,E. A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Sophie Bertrand A1 - Dediste,A. A1 - Marie-Luce Delforge A1 - Heymans,C. A1 - K Huygen A1 - Veronik Hutse A1 - Stéphanie Jacquinet A1 - Mak,R. A1 - Wesley Mattheus A1 - S Moreels A1 - Gaetan Muyldermans A1 - Denis Piérard A1 - Carole Schirvel A1 - Béatrice Swennen A1 - Heidi Theeten A1 - Geert Top A1 - Jean-Marie Tremerie A1 - Viviane Van Casteren A1 - Van Ranst, M A1 - Jan Verhaegen A1 - Zinnen,V. KW - 2014 KW - Maladies infectieuses pédiatriques KW - Vaccination PB - WIV-ISP CY - Bruxelles, Belgique ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Overview and evaluation of 15 years of Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease surveillance in Belgium, 1998-2012. JF - BMC Neurol Y1 - 2015 A1 - Amber Litzroth A1 - Cras, Patrick A1 - De Vil, Bart A1 - Sophie Quoilin KW - Attitude of Health Personnel KW - Autopsy KW - Belgium KW - Creutzfeldt-Jakob Syndrome KW - Epidemiological Monitoring KW - Humans KW - incidence KW - Neurology KW - PHYSICIANS AB -

BACKGROUND: In 1998, following the detection of variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (vCJD) in the UK, Belgium installed a surveillance system for Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). The objectives of this system were to identify vCJD cases and detect increases in CJD incidence. Diagnostic confirmation of CJD is based on autopsy after referral by neurologists. Reference centres perform autopsies and report to the surveillance system. The aim of this study was to assess whether the system met its objectives and to assess its acceptability.

METHODS: For 1999-2010, we linked surveillance data with hospital discharge data. We calculated the proportion of CJD suspected patients who died in hospitals and were captured by the surveillance system. We surveyed stakeholders on knowledge of the surveillance system, referral practices and acceptability. We compared proportions using the chi-square test and investigated variables associated with capture using a multivariable logistic regression model.

RESULTS: On average 60 % of hospitalised patients who died with suspected CJD were captured by the surveillance system. This proportion did not significantly differ over the years (p = 0.1). The odds of capture significantly decreased with every 1 year increase in age (OR = 0.95, 95 % CI 0.92-0.98, p = 0.001). Eleven percent of surveyed neurologists would not refer suspect vCJD cases for autopsy, nor contact a reference centre for diagnostic support. Sixty-one percent of surveyed neurologists were not familiar with the surveillance system. Awareness of the existence of the system did not impact referral behaviour (p = 0.18). CJD and vCJD surveillance were considered important by the majority of stakeholders.

CONCLUSIONS: Although 40 % of the suspect CJD cases were not referred for autopsy, our data suggest that the Belgian CJD surveillance system meets one of its main objectives: it can detect changes in CJD incidence. However, we do not have sufficient evidence to conclude that the system meets its second objective of detecting vCJD cases arising in Belgium. Although not well known, the system was considered acceptable by its stakeholders.

VL - 15 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26630984?dopt=Abstract M3 - 10.1186/s12883-015-0507-x ER - TY - Generic T1 - Vaccine effectiveness estimates in preventing laboratory-confirmed mild and moderate-to-severe influenza in the Belgian population during the last 3 seasons. Y1 - 2015 A1 - Hombrouck,A. A1 - Viviane Van Casteren A1 - Steven Van Gucht A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Françoise Wuillaume A1 - Isabelle Thomas A1 - Nathalie Bossuyt KW - Belgian KW - Belgian population KW - de KW - ET KW - INFLUENZA KW - Laboratory-confirmed KW - Maladies infectieuse KW - Mild KW - POPULATION KW - Seasons KW - Surveillance KW - vaccine JF - Séminaire Diagnostic et surveillance des maladies infectieuses. PB - NA CY - NA CP - WIV-ISP U1 - 38230 U2 - 21/05/2015 ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Zoönosen en Vector-Overdraagbare Ziekten. Epidemiologische surveillance in België, 2013 en 2014 Y1 - 2015 A1 - Javiera Rebolledo A1 - Tinne Lernout A1 - Amber Litzroth A1 - Dominique Van Beckhoven A1 - Bernard Brochier A1 - Delaere,B. A1 - David Fretin A1 - Heuninckx,W. A1 - Hing,M. A1 - Jacobs, J. A1 - B Kabamba Mukadi A1 - Maes,P. A1 - Marcella Mori A1 - Patteet,S. A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Saegeman,V. A1 - Vanessa Suin A1 - Truyens,C. A1 - Vanrompay, D A1 - M. Van Esbroeck A1 - Steven Van Gucht A1 - P Wattiau KW - 2013 KW - 2014 KW - jaarrapport KW - overdraagbare ziekten KW - Vector KW - zoonosen PB - WIV-ISP CY - Brussel, België ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Zoonoses et maladies à transmission vectorielle. Surveillance épidémiologique en Belgique, 2013 et 2014 Y1 - 2015 A1 - Javiera Rebolledo A1 - Tinne Lernout A1 - Amber Litzroth A1 - Dominique Van Beckhoven A1 - Bernard Brochier A1 - Delaere,B. A1 - David Fretin A1 - Heuninckx,W. A1 - Hing,M. A1 - Jacobs,J.A. A1 - B Kabamba Mukadi A1 - Maes,P. A1 - Marcella Mori A1 - Patteet,S. A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Saegeman,V. A1 - Vanessa Suin A1 - Truyens,C. A1 - Vanrompay, D A1 - Van Esbroeck, Marjan A1 - Steven Van Gucht A1 - P Wattiau KW - 2013 KW - 2014 KW - maladies à transmission vectorielle KW - Surveillance KW - Zoonoses PB - WIV-ISP CY - Bruxelles, Belgique ER - TY - Generic T1 - Evaluation de la surveillance épidémiologique belge en santé animale. Y1 - 2014 A1 - S. Cardoen A1 - Depoorter,P. A1 - Hendrikx,P. A1 - Hooyberghs,J. A1 - Hein Imberechts A1 - Dewulf,J. A1 - G. Czaplicki A1 - Yves Van der Stede A1 - Katelijne Dierick A1 - Thierry van den Berg A1 - Stoop,S. A1 - Hubaux,M. A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Saegerman,C. ED - FAVV-AFSCA KW - Belge KW - de KW - EN KW - EVALUATION KW - santé KW - Surveillance KW - surveillance,maladies animales,organisation,recommandations JF - Evaluation de la surveillance épidémiologique belge en santé animale. VL - 66 CP - AFSCA U1 - 39149 U2 - 19/03/2014 ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Infectieziekten bij kinderen die voorkomen kunnen worden door vaccinatie. Trends en Ontwikkelingen in België en de Gemeenschappen, 2012 Y1 - 2014 A1 - Toon Braeye A1 - D Hue A1 - Tine Grammens A1 - Sophie Quoilin KW - België KW - de PB - WIV-ISP CY - Brussel SN - D/2014/2505/03 U1 - 35187 U2 - 2014-003 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Lessons learned from a textbook outbreak: EHEC-O157:H7 infections associated with the consumption of raw meat products, June 2012, Limburg, Belgium. JF - Arch Public Health Y1 - 2014 A1 - Toon Braeye A1 - Sarah Denayer A1 - De Rauw, Klara A1 - Forier, Anmarie A1 - Verluyten, Jurgen A1 - Fourie, Ludo A1 - Katelijne Dierick A1 - N Botteldoorn A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Cosse, Pascale A1 - Noyen, Jeannine A1 - Piérard, Denis AB -

BACKGROUND: On 5 June 2012 several enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, EHEC, O157:H7 infections were reported to the public health authorities of Limburg.

METHODS: We performed a case-control study, a trace back/forward investigation and compared strains isolated from human cases and food samples. A case was defined as anyone with a laboratory-confirmed E. coli O157:H7-infection in North-East Limburg from May 30 2012 till July 15 2012. Family members with bloody diarrhea were also included as cases. E. coli O157 was isolated by culture and the presence of the virulence genes was verified using (q)PCR. Isolates were genotyped and compared by Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE) and insertion sequence 629-printing (IS629-printing).

RESULTS: The outbreak involved 24 cases, of which 17 were laboratory-confirmed. Five cases developed Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) and fifteen were hospitalized. Cases reported a significantly higher consumption of "steak tartare", a raw meat product (OR 48.12; 95% CI; 5.62- 416.01). Cases were also more likely to buy meat-products at certain butcheries (OR 11.67; 95% CI; 1.41 - 96.49). PFGE and IS629-printing demonstrated that the vtx1a vtx2a eae ehxA positive EHEC O157:H7 strains isolated from three meat products and all seventeen human stool samples were identical. In a slaughterhouse, identified by the trace-back investigation, a carcass infected with a different EHEC strain was found and confiscated.

CONCLUSION: We present a well described and effectively investigated foodborne outbreak associated with meat products. Our main recommendations are the facilitation and acceleration of the outbreak detection and the development of a communication plan to reaches all persons at risk.

MESH: Foodborne diseases, Shiga-toxigenic Escherichia coli, Enterohemorrhagic Escherichia coli, Meat products, Case control studies, Electrophoresis, Gel, Pulsed-Field.

VL - 72 CP - 1 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25810911?dopt=Abstract M3 - 10.1186/2049-3258-72-44 ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Maladies infectieuses pédiatriques à prévention vaccinale. Tendances et développements en Belgique et dans les Communautés, 2012 Y1 - 2014 A1 - Toon Braeye A1 - D Hue A1 - Tine Grammens A1 - Sophie Quoilin KW - Belgique KW - LE KW - Maladies infectieuse PB - WIV-ISP CY - Bruxelles SN - D/2014/2505/04 U1 - 35188 U2 - 2014-002 ER - TY - Generic T1 - A local outbreak of infections with EHEC-O157:H7 associated with the consumption of raw meat products, June 2012, Limburg, Belgium333 Y1 - 2013 A1 - Toon Braeye A1 - Sarah Denayer A1 - A. Forier A1 - J. Verluyten A1 - Fourie,L. A1 - K. De Rauw A1 - Katelijne Dierick A1 - N Botteldoorn A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - P. Cosse A1 - J. Noyen A1 - Denis Piérard KW - 2012 KW - a KW - Belgium KW - conference KW - CONSUMPTION KW - INFECTION KW - infections KW - Meat KW - Meat Products KW - ON KW - outbreak KW - PRODUCTS JF - 18 th conference on foodmicrobiology PB - NA CY - NA CP - BSFM U1 - 38087 U2 - 12-13 september 2013 ER - TY - Generic T1 - National surveillance of nosocomial infections in neonatal intensive care units in Belgium (Neo-KISS) Y1 - 2013 A1 - Mahieu,L. A1 - Cossey,V. A1 - Karl Mertens A1 - Haumont,D. A1 - Naulaers,G. A1 - Sophie Quoilin KW - 2010 KW - additional KW - adjustment KW - age KW - an KW - analysi KW - analysis KW - Antibiotic KW - AS KW - Belgian KW - Belgium KW - Benchmarking KW - birth KW - Bloodstream infection KW - Bloodstream infections KW - care KW - Case mix KW - Coagulase KW - confounder KW - Confounding KW - data KW - Data collection KW - density KW - Development KW - differences KW - EN KW - factors KW - Germany KW - improve KW - incidence KW - Indicator KW - Indicators KW - Infant KW - Infants KW - INFECTION KW - infections KW - Infectious KW - intensive care KW - intensive care unit KW - intensive care units KW - intervention KW - interventions KW - IS KW - IT KW - M KW - method KW - methods KW - Monitoring KW - morbidity KW - mortality KW - national KW - NEONATAL KW - neonatology KW - nosocomial KW - nosocomial infection KW - Nosocomial infections KW - Objective KW - ON KW - Patient KW - patients KW - period KW - pilot KW - Pneumonia KW - prevention KW - Primary bloodstream infection KW - protocol KW - Quality KW - RATES KW - report KW - Respiratory KW - result KW - results KW - risk KW - Risk Factors KW - Score KW - study KW - Surveillance KW - use KW - utilization KW - VAP KW - ventilation KW - Weight AB -

The national college of "Mother and Newborn" has the objective to improve the quality of care, by development of quality indicators, reporting and benchmarking. A significant heterogenity in morbidity and mortality between NICUs was found during the national intensive care benchmarking 2004-2008 report (NICAUDIT), which might have been due to differences in nosocomial infection rates. Indeed, nosocomial infections are more frequent in preterm infants than in pediatric patients, especially in very low birth weight infants (<1500 gram). Studies in Germany have shown that surveillance of infections, and benchmarking can result in a significant decrease in the incidence of infections. Another aim of the surveillance is to find risk factors for nosocomial infections which can be used to prevent nosocomial infections. Primary bloodstream infections especially those related to vascular lines and nosocomial pneumonia related to the use of respiratory devices are the primary focus of this surveillance. For this surveillance the German national surveillance protocol Neo-KISS (Krankenhaus-Infektions-Surveillance-System) is used. Both incidence densities (per patient days as numerator) and device associated infection rates (per catheter or ventilator days as numerator) are calculated. Also the device utilization and antibiotic utilization (per 100 patient days) were calculated. To standardize the infectious risk for each NICU, potential confounding factors and additional risk factors were measured and the (adjusted) standardized infection rates (SIR) are calculated for each unit. A SIR of 1 means that the infection rate is in accordance to the expected rate for the case-mix of the unit. The analysis was supported by WIV-ISP (K. Mertens) and BICS (M. Gérard).After a pilot phase in 2010, 7 out of 19 NICUs participated in the surveillance period 2011voluntary via web-based data collection forms. During this study period, 441 patients responsible for 14990 patient days were entered in the study. The mean gestational age was 28.8 weeks and mean birth weight was 1095 g with a mean surveillance duration of 33.6 days. Surveillance was ended because of patient transfer (26.5%), bodyweight of 1800 g reached (62.1%) or mortality (11.3%). The ventilation utilization (CPAP and/or intubation) and central line utilization were 62.7 days and 51.9 days per 100 patient days. Antibiotic utilization was 25.8 days per 100 patient days on average.

JF - Diagnose en surveillance van infectieuze aandoeningen PB - NA CY - NA CP - Quoilin,S. U1 - 35289 U2 - 21/11/2013 ER - TY - Generic T1 - Contribution of respiratory pathogens to consultations of influenza-like illness Y1 - 2012 A1 - Bollaerts,K. A1 - Jérôme Antoine A1 - Viviane Van Casteren A1 - Ducoffre,G. A1 - Sophie Quoilin KW - Activity KW - analysis KW - Belgian KW - Belgium KW - consultation KW - contribution KW - data KW - illness KW - illnesses KW - INFLUENZA KW - IS KW - Laboratories KW - measure KW - measures KW - MODEL KW - models KW - Objective KW - ON KW - parameters KW - pathogen KW - POISSON KW - Poisson regression KW - Ratio KW - regression KW - relative KW - Respiratory KW - seasonal KW - seasonality KW - series KW - time KW - Time series KW - Time-series KW - Underreporting KW - variation KW - VIRUS KW - Viruses AB -

Objective

JF - 3rd SIMID workshop PB - NA CY - NA CP - UHasselt U1 - 33050 U2 - 25-27/04/2012 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Contribution of respiratory pathogens to influenza-like illness consultations JF - Epidemiol.Infect. Y1 - 2012 A1 - Bollaerts,K. A1 - Jérôme Antoine A1 - Viviane Van Casteren A1 - Ducoffre,G. A1 - N. Hens A1 - Sophie Quoilin KW - Activity KW - article KW - Belgian KW - Belgium KW - Clinical KW - consultation KW - contribution KW - data KW - electronic KW - health KW - illness KW - illnesses KW - INFLUENZA KW - Institute KW - IS KW - journal KW - Laboratories KW - measure KW - measures KW - MEDV KW - method KW - methods KW - MODEL KW - models KW - ON KW - Paper KW - parameters KW - pathogen KW - POISSON KW - Poisson regression KW - public KW - public health KW - Public-health KW - Ratio KW - Ratios KW - regression KW - relative KW - Respiratory KW - result KW - results KW - seasonal KW - seasonal variation KW - seasonality KW - series KW - summary KW - Surveillance KW - time KW - Time series KW - Time-series KW - Underreporting KW - variation KW - VIRUS KW - Viruses KW - WIV-ISP AB - SUMMARY Influenza-like illnesses (ILIs) are caused by several respiratory pathogens. These pathogens show weak to strong seasonal activity implying seasonality in ILI consultations. In this paper, the contribution of pathogens to seasonality of ILI consultations was statistically modelled. Virological count data were first smoothed using modulation models for seasonal time series. Second, Poisson regression was used regressing ILI consultation counts on the smoothed time series. Using ratios of the estimated regression parameters, relative measures of the underreporting of pathogens were obtained. Influenza viruses A and B, parainfluenza virus and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) significantly contributed to explain the seasonal variation in ILI consultations. We also found that RSV was the least and influenza virus A is the most underreported pathogen in Belgian laboratory surveillance. The proposed methods and results are helpful in interpreting the data of clinical and laboratory surveillance, which are the essential parts of influenza surveillance VL - 141 CP - 10 U1 - 437 M3 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0950268812002506 ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Infectieziekten bij kinderen die voorkomen kunnen worden door vaccinatie. Trends en Ontwikkelingen in België en de Gemeenschappen, 2011. Y1 - 2012 A1 - Toon Braeye A1 - D Hue A1 - Tine Grammens A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Sophie Bertrand A1 - Bots,J. A1 - Ducoffre,G. A1 - Goubau,P. A1 - Heymans,C. A1 - Denis Piérard A1 - Carole Schirvel A1 - Béatrice Swennen A1 - Geert Top A1 - Viviane Van Casteren A1 - Vandenberg,O. A1 - Steven Van Gucht A1 - Marc Van Ranst A1 - Vanthomme,K. A1 - Jan Verhaegen A1 - Françoise Wuillaume KW - België KW - de KW - EN KW - trend KW - trends PB - WIV-ISP CY - Brussel SN - D/2012/2050/80 U1 - 30418 ER - TY - Generic T1 - A local outbreak of infections with EHEC-O157:H7 associated with the consumption of raw meat products, June 2012, Limburg, Belgium36436 Y1 - 2012 A1 - Toon Braeye A1 - Sarah Denayer A1 - Fourier A1 - J. Verluyten A1 - Fourie,L. A1 - K. De Rauw A1 - Katelijne Dierick A1 - N Botteldoorn A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - P. Cosse A1 - J. Noyen A1 - Denis Piérard KW - 2012 KW - a KW - Belgium KW - CONSUMPTION KW - INFECTION KW - infections KW - Meat KW - Meat Products KW - outbreak KW - PRODUCTS JF - ESCAIDE 2012 PB - NA CY - NA CP - ECDC U1 - 38086 U2 - 24 october 2012 ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Maladies infectieuses pédiatriques à prévention vaccinale. Tendances et évolutions en Belgique et dans les Communautés, 2011. Y1 - 2012 A1 - Toon Braeye A1 - D Hue A1 - Tine Grammens A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Sophie Bertrand A1 - Bots,J. A1 - Ducoffre,G. A1 - Goubau,P. A1 - Heymans,C. A1 - Denis Piérard A1 - Carole Schirvel A1 - Béatrice Swennen A1 - Geert Top A1 - Viviane Van Casteren A1 - Vandenberg,O. A1 - Steven Van Gucht A1 - Marc Van Ranst A1 - Vanthomme,K. A1 - Jan Verhaegen A1 - Françoise Wuillaume KW - Belgique KW - EN KW - ET KW - LE KW - Maladies infectieuse KW - pédiatrique KW - trends PB - WIV-ISP CY - Bruxelles VL - 2012-44 SN - D/2012/2050/81 U1 - 30419 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Q fever in Woolsorters, Belgium. JF - Emerg Infect Dis Y1 - 2011 A1 - P Wattiau A1 - Boldisova, Eva A1 - Toman, Rudolf A1 - Van Esbroeck, Marjan A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Hammadi, Samia A1 - Tissot-Dupont, Hervé A1 - Raoult, Didier A1 - Henkinbrant, Jean-Marie A1 - Van Hessche, Mieke A1 - David Fretin KW - Animals KW - Antibodies, Bacterial KW - Belgium KW - Cohort Studies KW - Communicable Diseases, Emerging KW - Coxiella burnetii KW - Goats KW - Humans KW - Occupational Diseases KW - Occupational Exposure KW - Q Fever KW - Seroepidemiologic Studies KW - Sheep, Domestic KW - wool VL - 17 CP - 12 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22172399?dopt=Abstract M3 - 10.3201/eid1712.101786 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Shigellosis outbreak linked to canteen-food consumption in a public institution: a matched case-control study36545 JF - Epidemiol.Infect. Y1 - 2011 A1 - I. Gutierrez Garitano A1 - Naranjo,M. A1 - A. Forier A1 - Hendriks,R. A1 - K. De Schrijver A1 - Sophie Bertrand A1 - Katelijne Dierick A1 - Robesyn,E. A1 - Sophie Quoilin KW - 2009 KW - a KW - ADOLESCENT KW - Adult KW - Aged KW - Aged,80 and over KW - an KW - article KW - association KW - at KW - Belgium KW - Case KW - Case-Control Studies KW - Cluster Analysis KW - CONSUMPTION KW - Control KW - detection KW - disease KW - Disease Outbreaks KW - Dysentery,Bacillary KW - electronic KW - epidemiology KW - Etiology KW - European KW - Feces KW - Female KW - Flemish KW - food KW - Food Handling KW - Food Services KW - Foodborne Diseases KW - Humans KW - im KW - implement KW - institution KW - interval KW - intervention KW - IS KW - isolation & purification KW - journal KW - Laboratories KW - Laboratory-confirmed KW - Logistic Models KW - Male KW - measure KW - measures KW - microbiology KW - middle aged KW - Morocco KW - Occupational Exposure KW - ODDS RATIO KW - ON KW - outbreak KW - prevention KW - profile KW - Profiles KW - programme KW - public KW - Questionnaires KW - Ratio KW - Retrospective Studies KW - Sample KW - Samples KW - SB - IM KW - Shigella KW - Shigella sonnei KW - study KW - Sweden KW - Test KW - time KW - training KW - Transmission KW - WATER KW - Young adult AB - On 13 November 2009, the authorities of Flemish Brabant, Belgium, received an alert concerning a potential outbreak of Shigella sonnei at a public institution. A study was conducted to assess the extent, discover the source and to implement further measures. We performed a matched case-control study to test an association between shigellosis and canteen-food consumption. Water samples and food handlers' faecal samples were tested. The reference laboratory characterized the retrospectively collected Shigella specimens. We found 52 cases distributed over space (25/35 departments) and time (2 months). We found a matched odds ratio of 3.84 (95% confidence interval 1.02-14.44) for canteen-food consumption. A food handler had travelled to Morocco shortly before detection of the first laboratory-confirmed case. Water samples and food handlers' faecal samples tested negative for Shigella. Confirmed cases presented PFGE profiles, highly similar to archived isolates from Morocco. Foodborne transmission associated with the canteen was strongly suspected VL - 139 CP - 12 U1 - 38215 M3 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0950268810003110 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Case finding of Influenza A(H1N1)2009 in a non-exposed population in the early pandemic36885 JF - Archives of Public Health Y1 - 2010 A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Isabelle Thomas A1 - Gerard,C. A1 - Bernard Brochier A1 - Bots,J. A1 - Lokietek,S. A1 - Robesyn,E. A1 - Françoise Wuillaume A1 - Gaetan Muyldermans KW - a KW - Case KW - INFLUENZA KW - pandemic KW - POPULATION AB - Not available VL - 68 U1 - 38328 M3 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1186%2F0778-7367-68-2-53 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Confirmation diagnosis of Influenza A(H1N1)2009 by Belgian sentinel laboratories during the epidemic phase36883 JF - Archives of Public Health Y1 - 2010 A1 - Gaetan Muyldermans A1 - Ducoffre,G. A1 - Isabelle Thomas A1 - Clement,F. A1 - De Laere,E. A1 - Y. Glupczynski A1 - Hougardy,N. A1 - K. Lagrou A1 - P.E. Léonard A1 - Meex,C. A1 - Denis Piérard A1 - Raymaekers,M. A1 - Reynders,M. A1 - Stalpaert,M. A1 - Verstrepen,W. A1 - Sophie Quoilin KW - Belgian KW - Diagnosis KW - epidemic KW - INFLUENZA KW - Laboratories KW - sentinel AB - Not available VL - 68 U1 - 38306 M3 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1186%2F0778-7367-68-2-76 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Virological surveillance of the Influenza A (H1N1)2009 pandemic: the role of the Belgian National Influenza Centre JF - Archives of Public Health Y1 - 2010 A1 - Gerard,C. A1 - Bernard Brochier A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Françoise Wuillaume A1 - Viviane Van Casteren A1 - Isabelle Thomas KW - a KW - Belgian KW - INFLUENZA KW - Influenza A Virus,H1N1 Subtype KW - national KW - pandemic KW - Role KW - Surveillance AB -

Not available

VL - 68 CP - 2 U1 - 31233 M3 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1186%2F0778-7367-68-2-68 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Cluster of hepatitis A cases among travellers returning from Egypt, Belgium, September through November 200836837 JF - Euro.Surveill Y1 - 2009 A1 - Robesyn,E. A1 - Micalessi,M.I. A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Naranjo,M. A1 - Isabelle Thomas KW - 2008 KW - a KW - an KW - article KW - Belgian KW - Belgium KW - Brussels KW - care KW - Case KW - Cluster KW - Common KW - Control KW - Countries KW - disease KW - Disease Outbreaks KW - Egypt KW - electronic KW - epidemiology KW - European KW - Flemish KW - France KW - health KW - Hepatitis KW - Hepatitis A KW - Humans KW - Hypothesis KW - im KW - incidence KW - Infectious KW - investigation KW - IS KW - journal KW - methods KW - need KW - outbreak KW - POLICIES KW - POLICY KW - Population Surveillance KW - public KW - public health KW - Public-health KW - Risk Assessment KW - Risk Factors KW - SB - IM KW - statistics & numerical data KW - Surveillance KW - Travel KW - Vaccination AB - Following a European alert by France, we detected a hepatitis A cluster in Belgian travellers returning from Egypt. Our investigation supports the hypothesis of a common source outbreak, linked to Nile river cruises. The outbreak also suggests the need to consider an intensification of the vaccination policy for travellers to hepatitis A endemic countries VL - 14 CP - 3 U1 - 38334 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Evidence-based semiquantitative methodology for prioritization of foodborne zoonoses36823 JF - Foodborne.Pathog.Dis. Y1 - 2009 A1 - S. Cardoen A1 - Van Huffel,X. A1 - Dirk Berkvens A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Ducoffre,G. A1 - Saegerman,C. A1 - Niko Speybroeck A1 - Hein Imberechts A1 - Herman,L. A1 - R. Ducatelle A1 - Katelijne Dierick KW - 0 KW - a KW - Agent KW - Agents KW - an KW - Animal KW - Animals KW - application KW - applications KW - article KW - AS KW - bacteria KW - Belgium KW - Blood-Borne Pathogens KW - bovine spongiform encephalopathy KW - Brussels KW - Campylobacter KW - classification KW - Clinical KW - Clostridium KW - Clostridium botulinum KW - consequences KW - Control KW - Countries KW - criteria KW - data KW - Databases,Factual KW - disease KW - Echinococcus multilocularis KW - ECONOMIC KW - electronic KW - epidemiology KW - Escherichia coli KW - Establish KW - evidence based KW - evidence-based KW - Evidence-Based Practice KW - Exercise KW - Field KW - food KW - Food Chain KW - Food Microbiology KW - Food Parasitology KW - Food Safety KW - Foodborne Diseases KW - general KW - Group KW - hazard KW - health KW - Health Priorities KW - Help KW - Human KW - Humans KW - identify KW - im KW - INFORMATION KW - IS KW - IT KW - journal KW - KNOWLEDGE KW - LEVEL KW - levels KW - List KW - Listeria KW - Listeria monocytogenes KW - method KW - methodology KW - methods KW - microbiology KW - Monitoring KW - Mycobacterium KW - Mycobacterium bovis KW - objectives KW - occurrence KW - ON KW - Parasites KW - pathogen KW - pathogenicity KW - POLICIES KW - POLICY KW - prion KW - Prions KW - PROGRAM KW - public KW - public health KW - Public-health KW - questions KW - Ranking KW - relative KW - Research KW - Research Support KW - result KW - results KW - risk KW - SAFETY KW - Salmonella KW - SB - IM KW - Score KW - severity KW - specific KW - staphylococcus KW - Staphylococcus aureus KW - statistics & numerical data KW - Toxoplasma KW - Viruses KW - Water Microbiology KW - Yersinia KW - Yersinia enterocolitica KW - Zoonoses AB - OBJECTIVES: To prioritize an extended list of food- and water-borne zoonoses to allow food safety authorities to focus on the most relevant hazards in the food chain. METHODS: An evidence-based semiquantitative methodology was developed. Scores were given by 35 scientific experts in the field of animal and public health, food, and clinical microbiology and epidemiology to 51 zoonotic agents according to five criteria related to public health (severity and occurrence in humans), animal health (severity of disease coupled with economic consequences and occurrence in animals), and food (occurrence in food). The scoring procedure was standardized and evidence-based as experts were provided, for each zoonotic agent, a same set of up-to-date help information data related to the five criteria. Independently, the relative importance of the five criteria was weighted by seven food chain risk managers. The zoonotic agents were ranked based on overall weighted scores and were grouped in four statistically different levels of importance. RESULTS: The following foodborne zoonotic pathogens were classified as "most important": Salmonella spp., Campylobacter spp., Listeria monocytogenes, and verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli. A second group of "significant importance" included Toxoplasma gondii, the agent of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, Clostridium botulinum, Staphylococcus aureus, Cryptosporidium parvum, Mycobacterium bovis, Echinococcus granulosus, Streptococcus spp., Echinococcus multilocularis, Yersinia enterocolitica, Mycobacterium avium, Fasciola hepatica, Giardia intestinalis, and Rotavirus. CONCLUSIONS: This methodology allowed to rank 51 zoonotic agents with objectivity and taking account of a combined input from risk assessors and risk managers. APPLICATIONS: These results support food safety policy makers to establish the multiannual monitoring program of foodborne zoonoses. They also enable to identify knowledge gaps on specific zoonotic agents and to formulate key research questions. Principally, this method of prioritization is of general interest as it can be applied for any other ranking exercise and in any country VL - 6 CP - 9 U1 - 38104 M3 - http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/fpd.2009.0291 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - A population-based prevalence study of hepatitis A, B and C virus using oral fluid in Flanders, Belgium. JF - Eur J Epidemiol Y1 - 2007 A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Veronik Hutse A1 - Vandenberghe, Hans A1 - Claeys, Françoise A1 - Verhaegen, Els A1 - De Cock, Liesbet A1 - Van Loock, Frank A1 - Top, Geert A1 - Van Damme, Pierre A1 - Vranckx, Robert A1 - Herman Van Oyen KW - ADOLESCENT KW - Adult KW - Aged KW - Belgium KW - Child KW - Child, Preschool KW - cross-sectional studies KW - Female KW - Hepatitis A KW - Hepatitis A Antibodies KW - Hepatitis B KW - Hepatitis B Surface Antigens KW - Hepatitis C KW - Hepatitis C Antibodies KW - Humans KW - Infant KW - Infant, Newborn KW - Male KW - middle aged KW - Population Surveillance KW - prevalence KW - Saliva AB -

Ten years after the first seroprevalence study performed in Flanders, the aim of this cross sectional study was to follow the evolution of hepatitis A, B and C prevalence. The prevalence of hepatitis A antibodies, hepatitis B surface antigen and hepatitis C antibodies was measured in oral fluid samples collected by postal survey. Using the National Population Register, an incremental sampling plan was developed to obtain a representative sampling of the general population. A total of 24,000 persons were selected and 6,000 persons among them contacted in a first wave. With 1834 participants a response rate of 30.6% was achieved. The prevalence was weighted for age and was 20.2% (95% CI 19.43-21.08) for hepatitis A, 0.66% (95% CI 0.51-0.84) for hepatitis B surface antigen and 0.12% (95% CI 0.09-0.39) for hepatitis C. The prevalence of hepatitis A and C in the Flemish population is lower in 2003 compared with the results of the study performed in 1993. The difference may be due to a real decrease of the diseases but also to differences in the methodology. The prevalence of hepatitis B surface antigen remains stable. Considering the 30% response rate and the high quality of the self-collected samples as reflect of a good participation of the general population, saliva test for prevalence study is a good epidemiological monitoring tool.

VL - 22 CP - 3 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17356926?dopt=Abstract M3 - 10.1007/s10654-007-9105-6 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Management of potential human cases of influenza A/H5N1: lessons from Belgium. JF - Euro Surveill Y1 - 2006 A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Isabelle Thomas A1 - Gérard, C A1 - Maes, S A1 - Haucotte, G A1 - Gerard, M A1 - Van Laethem, Y A1 - Snacken, R A1 - Hanquet, G A1 - Bernard Brochier A1 - Robesyn, E KW - Belgium KW - Communicable Disease Control KW - Diagnosis, Differential KW - Disease Outbreaks KW - Guidelines as Topic KW - Humans KW - Influenza A Virus, H5N1 Subtype KW - Influenza, Human KW - Male KW - Practice Patterns, Physicians' KW - Risk Assessment VL - 11 CP - 1 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16801712?dopt=Abstract ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Soft tissue infections in Belgian rugby players due to Streptococcus pyogenes emm type 81. JF - Euro Surveill Y1 - 2006 A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Lambion, N A1 - Mak, R A1 - Denis, O A1 - Lammens, C A1 - Struelens, M A1 - Maes, S A1 - Goossens, H KW - ADOLESCENT KW - Adult KW - Belgium KW - Contact Tracing KW - Disease Outbreaks KW - Female KW - Football KW - Humans KW - Hygiene KW - Malaysia KW - Male KW - middle aged KW - Soft Tissue Infections KW - Soft Tissue Injuries KW - Streptococcal Infections KW - Streptococcus pyogenes KW - Surveys and Questionnaires KW - Travel KW - wound infection VL - 11 CP - 12 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17213570?dopt=Abstract ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Oral fluid as a medium for the detection of hepatitis B surface antigen. JF - J Med Virol Y1 - 2005 A1 - Veronik Hutse A1 - Verhaegen, Els A1 - De Cock, Liesbet A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Vandenberghe, Hans A1 - Horsmans, Yves A1 - Michielsen, Peter A1 - Van Damme, Pierre A1 - Van Vlierberghe, Hans A1 - Claeys, Françoise A1 - Vranckx, Robert A1 - Herman Van Oyen KW - Hepatitis B KW - Hepatitis B Antibodies KW - Hepatitis B Surface Antigens KW - Hepatitis B virus KW - Humans KW - Saliva KW - specimen handling AB -

Currently viral antigens and antibodies are detected by traditional serological tests. However, the introduction of oral fluid as an alternative medium would allow other alternatives. The collection of oral fluid is, in comparison with venepuncture, less invasive, less painful, less expensive (i.e., no trained personal required), and safe (prevention of needle stick injuries). Also large numbers of samples can be collected easily for epidemiological purposes. Forty-three HBsAg positive and seventy-three HBsAg negative paired serum/oral fluid samples were tested. They were collected from patients attending university hospitals. The oral fluid samples were collected using the Oracol collection device and they were subjected to an IgG quantification assay to ensure their quality and quantity. The detection of HBsAg in oral fluid was carried out using a modified ETI-MAK-4 ELISA. The validation of this oral fluid test gave a sensitivity and specificity of 90.7% and 100%, respectively. The modified ETI-MAK-4 ELISA is a suitable test for oral fluid samples collected by the Oracol collection device for epidemiological purposes.

VL - 77 CP - 1 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16032713?dopt=Abstract M3 - 10.1002/jmv.20413 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Detection of HCV antibodies in oral fluid. JF - J Virol Methods Y1 - 2004 A1 - De Cock, L A1 - Veronik Hutse A1 - Verhaegen, E A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Vandenberghe, H A1 - Vranckx, R KW - Antibodies, Viral KW - Blood Specimen Collection KW - Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay KW - Hepacivirus KW - Hepatitis C KW - Hepatitis C Antibodies KW - Humans KW - Saliva AB -

Although conventionally the detection of HCV antibodies is carried out on serum, the collection of oral fluid is non-invasive, safe and cost effective. In this study, the efficacy of the detection of HCV antibodies in oral fluid was assessed. 73 anti-HCV positive and 73 anti-HCV negative paired serum/oral fluid samples, drawn from patients visiting a Belgian academic hospital, were tested using the modified Ortho HCV 3.0 and LIA confirmation assay. Performing the test on oral fluid with the modified protocol, 61/73 anti-HCV positive samples were tested positive, while 73/73 anti-HCV negative samples were tested negative, giving a sensitivity and specificity of 83.6% (95% CI: 72.7-90.9%) and 100.0% (95% CI: 93.8-100.0%), respectively. Comparing S/CO of concordantly positive and negative samples, the cut-off point was lowered by 30% resulting in a sensitivity of 89.0% (95% CI: 79.0-94.8%) while the specificity remained 100.0% (95% CI: 93.8-100.0%). The confirmation assay was carried out as described by the manufacturer, diluting the oral fluid 1:10. Testing paired samples gave a concordance of 85.6% (125/146), yielding no more accurate results. These findings suggested that the modified ELISA method for anti-HCV detection in oral fluid can be used for epidemiological surveys.

VL - 122 CP - 2 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15542142?dopt=Abstract M3 - 10.1016/j.jviromet.2004.09.001 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - A Campylobacter coli foodborne outbreak in Belgium. JF - Acta Clin Belg Y1 - 2000 A1 - Ronveaux, O A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Van Loock, F A1 - Lheureux, P A1 - Struelens, M A1 - Butzler, J P KW - Acute Disease KW - Adult KW - Belgium KW - Campylobacter coli KW - Campylobacter Infections KW - Disease Outbreaks KW - Enterocolitis KW - Food Microbiology KW - Humans KW - middle aged AB -

In May 1995, the Scientific Institute of Public Health was informed of an outbreak of gastrointestinal illness in a congregational school in the Brussels area. The field investigation identified 24 cases with mild to severe gastrointestinal and general symptoms of acute bacterial enterocolitis. Campylobacter coli was detected in the stools of 5 patients. A retrospective cohort study suggested that a mixed salad (containing ham and feta cheese) was the probable source of infection, but the route of contamination remained unknown. The rapid investigation of such episodes of collective foodborne infections is essential for the implementation of adequate control measures.

VL - 55 CP - 6 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11484421?dopt=Abstract ER - TY - RPRT T1 - Virological Surveillance of Influenza in Belgium: season 2018-2019 Y1 - 0 A1 - Isabelle Thomas A1 - Cyril Barbezange A1 - Steven Van Gucht A1 - Weyckmans,J. A1 - Ilham Fdillate A1 - Reinout Van Eycken A1 - Assia Hamouda A1 - Nathalie Bossuyt A1 - Sophie Quoilin A1 - Dieter Van Cauteren A1 - Sarah Denayer A1 - François Dufrasne ER -