Title Epidemiological and environmental investigation of the ‘big four’ Vibrio species, 1994 to 2021: a Baltic Sea retrospective study /
Authors Gyraitė, Greta ; Kataržytė, Marija ; Bučas, Martynas ; Kalvaitienė, Greta ; Kube, Sandra ; Herlemann, Daniel P.R ; Pansch, Christian ; Andersson, Anders F ; Pitkanen, Tarja ; Hokajärvi, Anna-Maria ; Annus-Urmet, Aune ; Hauk, Gerhard ; Hippelein, Martin ; Lastauskienė, Eglė ; Labrenz, Matthias
DOI 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2024.29.32.2400075
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Is Part of Eurosurveillance.. Stockholm : European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). 2024, vol. 29, iss. 32, p. [1-14].. ISSN 1025-496X. eISSN 1560-7917
Abstract [eng] Background: The Vibrio genus comprises several bacterial species present in the Baltic Sea region (BSR), which are known to cause human infections. Aim: To provide a comprehensive retrospective analysis of Vibrio-induced infections in the BSR from 1994 to 2021, focusing on the ‘big four’ Vibrio species – V. alginolyticus, V. cholerae non-O1/O139, V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus – in eight European countries (Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden) bordering the Baltic Sea. Methods: Our analysis includes data on infections, Vibrio species distribution in coastal waters and environmental data received from national health agencies or extracted from scientific literature and online databases. A redundancy analysis was performed to determine the potential impact of several independent variables, such as sea surface temperature, salinity, the number of designated coastal beaches and year, on the Vibrio infection rate. Results: For BSR countries conducting surveillance, we observed an exponential increase in total Vibrio infections (n = 1,553) across the region over time. In Sweden and Germany, total numbers of Vibrio spp. and infections caused by V. alginolyticus and V. parahaemolyticus positively correlate with increasing sea surface temperature. Salinity emerged as a critical driver of Vibrio spp. distribution and abundance. Furthermore, our proposed statistical model reveals 12 to 20 unreported cases in Lithuania and Poland, respectively, countries with no surveillance. Conclusions: There are discrepancies in Vibrio surveillance and monitoring among countries, emphasising the need for comprehensive monitoring programmes of these pathogens to protect human health, particularly in the context of climate change.
Published Stockholm : European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC)
Type Journal article
Language English
Publication date 2024
CC license CC license description