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Volume 9, Number 1—January 2003
Research

Viral Gastroenteritis Outbreaks in Europe, 1995–2000

Ben Lopman*†Comments to Author , Mark Reacher*, Yvonne van Duijnhoven‡, François-Xavier Hanon§, David Brown†, and Marion Koopmans‡1
Author affiliations: *Public Health Laboratory Service Communicable Disease Surveillance Centre, London, England; †Central Public Health Laboratory, London, England; ‡National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), The Netherlands; §Statens Serum Institute, Copenhagen, Denmark

Main Article

Table 2

National coverage and use of clinical definitions for viral gastroenteritis by European surveillance systems

Country National coverage %a Definition of viral gastroenteritis outbreakb Laboratory confirmation required Outbreak definition applied
As entry criteria in database Retrospectively for analysis
Denmark
100
Kaplan’s, shellfish

Always
Always
England and Wales
100
General
Yes
Always
Never
Finland
100
Clinical
Yes
Always
Never
France
100
Clinical, shellfish

Always
Never
Germany





Italy
1
Clinical

Always
Always
Slovenia
100
Clinical

Sometimes
Sometimes
Spain
100
General
Yes
Always
Sometimes
Sweden
100
Kaplan’s, clinical
Yes
Always
Sometimes
the Netherlands 100 System 1: clinical
System 2: Kaplan’s
System 3: clinical Yes
Yes Sometimes Always

aRefers to geographic coverage by surveillance, not completeness of reporting.
bKaplan’s, Kaplan’s criteria for recognition of Norovirus outbreaks (33); clinical, clinical criteria (different from Kaplan’s) specifying that cases must be clustered in time and place; general, general definition used for all outbreaks of gastroenteritis with laboratory confirmation required to attribute outbreak to viral pathogen; shellfish, specific criteria used for identifying shellfish outbreaks.

Main Article

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Main Article

1On behalf of the Foodborne Viruses in Europe group, which includes: the Netherlands: M. Koopmans, H. Vennena, Y. van Duynhoven, and M.A. Widdowson,; Finland: K.-H. von Bonsdorff, L. Maunula; Denmark: B. Böttiger, K. Mølbak, F.X. Hanon; Sweden: L. Svensson, K.-O. Hedlund, Maria Thorvag, Juan Carrique-Mas; United Kingdom: D. Brown, M. Reacher, J. Green, B. Lopman; Germany: E. Schreier, H. Gelderblom, Andrea Ammon; Spain: A. Sanchez-Faquier, G. Hernández-Pezzi, A. Bosch, J. Buesa; France: F. LeGuyader, P. Pothier, E. Kohli; Italy: F. Ruggeri, D. DeMedici; and Slovenia: M. Poljsak-Prijatelj, A. Hocevar-Grom.

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The conclusions, findings, and opinions expressed by authors contributing to this journal do not necessarily reflect the official position of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Public Health Service, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or the authors' affiliated institutions. Use of trade names is for identification only and does not imply endorsement by any of the groups named above.
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