Department of Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases and Surveillance, National Institute of Public Health NIH - National Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland.
Laboratory BSL3 and Virology Department; National Institute of Public Health NIH - National Research Institute, Warsaw, Poland.
Euro Surveill. 2023 May;28(18). doi: 10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2023.28.18.2200452.
BackgroundTick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is the most common viral central nervous system (CNS) infection in Poland. Previous research suggests that its incidence was underestimated in the pre-pandemic period. The COVID-19 pandemic caused a considerable burden on surveillance systems, which could further impact reporting.AimWe aimed to assess the completeness of reporting of TBE in the years 2008 to 2020 and explore the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on reporting to the epidemiological surveillance system, compared with hospitalisations for TBEV and other viral neuro-infections.MethodsWe compared the Polish epidemiology of TBE and other viral infections of the CNS from national surveillance reports with data on hospitalisations from 2008 to 2020 and data from selected European countries.ResultsBetween 2008 and 2020, 3,016 TBE cases were reported to surveillance compared with 3,620 hospitalisations. There was an increasing trend in hospitalisations, while surveillance data demonstrated the opposite, with the largest discrepancy observed in the first pandemic year (354 hospitalisations vs 159 cases reported to surveillance). Serological testing for TBE was used more in the known endemic region of north-eastern Poland and less in non-endemic areas. Other European countries reported higher TBE case numbers and an increase during the COVID-19 pandemic, whereas Poland observed an opposite trend.ConclusionThe sensitivity of TBE surveillance in Poland requires improvement. There are considerable regional differences. Regions that test for TBE intensively report most cases. Policymakers should be made aware of the value of quality epidemiological data for planning prophylactic measures in risk areas.
蜱传脑炎（TBE）是波兰最常见的病毒性中枢神经系统（CNS）感染。先前的研究表明，在大流行前，其发病率被低估了。COVID-19 大流行给监测系统带来了相当大的负担，这可能会进一步影响报告。目的：我们旨在评估 2008 年至 2020 年 TBE 报告的完整性，并探讨 COVID-19 大流行对与 TBEV 和其他病毒性神经感染相关的流行病学监测系统报告的潜在影响。方法：我们将波兰 TBE 和其他 CNS 病毒感染的流行病学从国家监测报告与 2008 年至 2020 年的住院数据以及来自选定欧洲国家的数据进行了比较。结果：2008 年至 2020 年，与 3620 例住院病例相比，向监测系统报告了 3016 例 TBE 病例。住院人数呈上升趋势，而监测数据则相反，最大的差异出现在大流行的第一年（354 例住院病例，向监测系统报告了 159 例病例）。TBE 的血清学检测在东北部已知流行地区使用较多，而非流行地区使用较少。其他欧洲国家报告了更高的 TBE 病例数，并在 COVID-19 大流行期间有所增加，而波兰则观察到相反的趋势。结论：波兰 TBE 监测的敏感性需要提高。存在相当大的地区差异。密集检测 TBE 的地区报告的病例最多。决策者应意识到高质量流行病学数据对于规划风险地区的预防措施的价值。
