Volume 14, Number 4—April 2008
Research
Control Measures Used during Lymphogranuloma Venereum Outbreak, Europe
Aura Timen*†
, Marlies E.J.L. Hulscher‡, Dieuwke Vos*†, Marita J.W. van de Laar*§, Kevin A. Fenton¶, Jim E. Van Steenbergen*, Jos W.M. van der Meer‡, and Richard P.T.M. Grol‡
, Marlies E.J.L. Hulscher‡, Dieuwke Vos*†, Marita J.W. van de Laar*§, Kevin A. Fenton¶, Jim E. Van Steenbergen*, Jos W.M. van der Meer‡, and Richard P.T.M. Grol‡Table 1
Control measures used by 18 European countries during an LGV outbreak*
| Category | All countries (n = 18) | Countries with cases (n = 11) |
|---|---|---|
| Initial alert and response | ||
| Alert and response issued | 11 | 9 |
| Enhanced surveillance | 8 | 7 |
| Voluntary reporting | 9 | 7 |
| Provisional guidelines | 9 | 7 |
| Information dissemination | 11 | 9 |
| Educational activities |
6 |
6 |
| Development of control measures | ||
| Outbreak management team (advisory team) | 5 | 5 |
| Initial risk assessment performed | 8 | 7 |
| Methods to collect evidence | ||
| Hand search literature | 11 | 9 |
| Search electronic databases | 10 | 7 |
| Search patient entry data | 7 | 6 |
| Search unpublished data | 4 | 4 |
| Methods to analyze evidence | ||
| Decision analysis | 5 | 3 |
| Meta-analysis | 0 | 0 |
| Nonsystematic review | 5 | 4 |
| Systematic review | 4 | 4 |
| Experience based | 8 | 7 |
| Methods to formulate measures | ||
| Subjective review | 8 | 6 |
| Informal expert consensus | 10 | 8 |
| Formal expert consensus | 4 | 4 |
| Evidence based | 0 | 0 |
| Procedure for updating key recommendations | 11 | 4 |
| National LGV guideline | 4 | 3 |
| Formal authorization process of the guideline |
2 |
2 |
| Content of control measures | ||
| Active case finding | 9 | 7 |
| Contact tracing | 7 | 6 |
| Partner notification | 5 | 4 |
| Screening risk group | 5 | 3 |
| Activities targeting risk groups | 10 | 8 |
| Alerting general public | 1 | 1 |
| Alerting general practitioners | 8 | 5 |
| Alerting STI clinics | 11 | 9 |
| Alerting public health physicians | 9 | 9 |
| Alerting microbiologists | 9 | 6 |
| Alerting hospitals | 5 | 3 |
| Alerting GUM and gastroenterologists | 8 | 6 |
| Alerting HIV specialists | 3 | 3 |
| LGV notifiable† | 5 | 4 |
| National case-register for LGV† | 9 | 7 |
*Data gathered through a survey. LGV, lymphogranuloma venereum; STI, sexually transmitted infection; GUM, genitourinary specialists.
†Data were missing for 3 countries for this category.
