On 28 April 2023, the French Paediatric Society reported that since July 2022, nine neonates presented with severe sepsis, complicated by hepatic failure, and neurological or myocardial involvement due to infection with Echovirus 11 (E11) in France, seven neonates died. Reported cases were predominantly male, including four pairs of premature twins and a full-term singleton. Five out of nine neonates were born with low birth weight. All cases presented clinical signs between three and six days of age. Maternal clinical symptoms, such as fever and gastrointestinal signs, were reported in four out of five mothers during the three days before or at delivery. Seven cases are reported to have occurred in the context of confirmed vertical transmission. According to the French Enterovirus (EV) surveillance, E11 was the predominant circulating EV in 2022 in neonates (30.2% of identified viruses). It is also reported that circulation of a new variant of E11 has been occurring since June 2022 in metropolitan France and in certain Overseas Countries and Territories (New Caledonia and Réunion).
On 15 June 2023, a scientific article was published in the Eurosurveillance journal reporting two cases of fulminant hepatitis in Italy linked with E11 infection. The cases are non-identical, male, late-preterm twins who were transferred in April to the neonatal intensive care unit due to episodes of apnoea requiring respiratory support. EV typing was performed in urine and plasma specimens by whole genome sequencing and showed the presence of E11. The phylogenetic and molecular analysis concluded that the Italian E11 strains clustered with French strains collected in 2023, which together composed a divergent lineage. The mother presented with a single episode of fever at 35 weeks and 2 days of gestational age. The infants were born the following day. No specimens were collected from the mother for virological investigations.
ECDC would like to raise awareness among the clinicians and specifically the neonatologists and paediatric infectious diseases doctors on this event. We would therefore appreciate if you could share the currently available information with the ESPID network with the aim to disseminate the current limited knowledge on the situation and encourage the testing and reporting of any suspected cases to national public health agencies.
Oxford Courses for a Postgraduate Certificate, Postgraduate Diploma and MSc in Paediatric Infectious Diseases
Oxford University are offering a Postgraduate Certificate (new this upcoming academic year), a Postgraduate Diploma, and a MSc in Paediatric Infectious Diseases. The courses bring leaders in the field from around the world to teach a comprehensive syllabus to inspire and educate a new generation of paediatricians, and ultimately improve Child Health.
13th World Congress of the World Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases - WSPID 2023
13th World Congress of the World Society for Pediatric Infectious Diseases - WSPID 2023 – taking place from 14 -17 November 2023 in Durban, South Africa
13th Meeting of the International Society of Pneumonia and Pneumococcal Diseases (ISPPD-13)
13th Meeting of the International Society of Pneumonia and Pneumococcal Diseases (ISPPD-13) which will take place at the CTICC in beautiful Cape Town, South Africa on 17-20 March 2024.
VERDI “Mpox paediatric and adolescent clinical study"
You are invited to take part in a study of mpox in children and adolescents globally. The study aims to collect harmonised data on monkeypox virus infection in these groups to enable epidemiological analysis of the combined dataset.
The state of knowledge regarding the epidemiology, clinical presentation and outcomes of mpox disease in children and adolescents is limited. There is currently a need for a harmonized EU paediatric clinical protocol for standardized collection and analysis of data on monkeypox virus infection in this group.
WHO WE ARE
This study is a Joint EU Clinical Research Initiative which is part of the VERDI (SARS-coV2 variants Evaluation in pRegnancy and paeDIatrics cohorts) project, in collaboration with VACCELERATE. VERDI is coordinated by the University of Padova, and this study is sponsored by Fondazione Penta Onlus, both based in Padova, Italy.
We are establishing a standard observational mpox data collection system (for collection of data on both retro- and prospective cases) with the initial goal of describing the presentation, clinical course, and outcomes of children and adolescents (0-17 years old at mpox diagnosis) with laboratory-confirmed MPXV infection.STUDY PROCEDURES
· Phase 1: starts in December 2022 with collection of anonymised real-world data on children and adolescents with laboratory-confirmed MPXV infection. Requirement for ethics approval dependant on local regulation.
· Phase 2: starts in March 2023 with establishment of an enhanced observational cohort of paediatric cases with confirmed MPXV infection. This will be a consented study collecting detailed pseudonymised data, including longer term follow-up through data linkage and / or direct patient contact. A site feasibility assessment will be performed prior to joining this phase of the study and local ethics approval will be required. WHO SHOULD PARTICIPATE
All sites:
· including university, non-academic, tertiary care and community hospitals,
· with or without prior experience in carrying out research projects,
· who are or will be taking care of children with confirmed MPX or pediatric MPX contacts
ESPID are deeply saddened by the devastation earthquakes caused in Turkey and Syria, claiming thousands of lives and ESPID are concerned for the potential threat of clusters of infectious diseases.
Our thoughts are with all those affected by the earthquakes and the destruction now faced by survivors of this horrific disaster. To the families across the world who have lost loved ones, we send our condolences.
Anyone who wishes to offer support to those affected, you can do so through the appropriate organisations or write to admin@espid.org to be directed to these organisations.
ESPID are aware of phishing/fraudulent emails and at times, posing as ESPID Board members, requesting financial help. Please be informed ESPID Board and Committees would never email requesting help in any financial way. Unfortunately, these emails are out with ESPID's control and assure you we would never send such emails. If you have received an email and wish to check you can email admin@espid.org
PEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASES SOCIETY (PIDS) AND STOP TB COLLABORATE TO PUBLISH SPECIAL JPIDS SUPPLEMENT ON PEDIATRIC TUBERCULOSIS
The Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society (JPIDS) supplement on pediatric tuberculosis has been published. This is free to view which enables anyone to view them.
Increase in acute hepatitis of unknown origin among children – United Kingdom
An increase in acute hepatitis cases in children during the past few weeks has been reported in the United Kingdom. In England, there are approximately 60 cases under investigation with most cases being 2 to 5 years old. Some cases progressed to acute liver failure and have required transfer to specialist children’s liver units. A small number of children have undergone liver transplantation. Based on reports from the specialist units, no child has died. In Scotland, 11 cases which required hospital admission were children aged between 1-5 years and are under investigation. Most of the cases in Scotland presented from March 2022 onwards. In Wales, there are currently no known cases under investigation, but a very small number of cases from early 2022 had similar clinical presentations. In Northern Ireland, there are currently no confirmed cases reported.
The clinical syndrome in identified cases is of severe acute hepatitis with markedly elevated transaminases, often presenting with jaundice, sometimes preceded by gastrointestinal symptoms including vomiting as a prominent feature, in children up to the age of 16 years.
At present, the cause of hepatitis in these cases is unknown. The common viruses that can cause hepatitis (hepatitis viruses A, B, C, D and E) have not been detected in any of the cases. Some of the children hospitalised in England did test positive for SARS-CoV-2 and others for adenovirus. There is currently no clear connection between the reported cases. There is no known association with travel.
Investigations are underway across the UK to investigate the potential cause and information has been distributed to healthcare professionals and the general public to raise awareness.
ECDC and partners are sharing this information internationally to increase awareness among clinicians taking care of children and to assess and report whether there are any similar cases in other countries.
Clinicians are encouraged to report cases of acute hepatitis in children up to the age of 16 years with a serum transaminase >500 IU/L, in which hepatitis A to E has been excluded, to National Public Health Institutes.
Member States can share information about any such suspect cases in the ECDC EpiPulse platform to facilitate the investigation.
By this statement we, as ESPID board, strongly sympathize with our colleagues from the Ukraine. Children are among the primary victims of armed conflicts and we call on all parties to the conflict in Ukraine to protect our colleagues, children and their families from further violence.
We wholeheartedly hope that all will stay safe the coming time that is filled with fear and uncertainty.
We would like to reach out to the ESPID members from the Ukraine to see if we can offer help in any way. We would like to do whatever we can to support as much as possible in these extremely difficult times. A first request via pTBnet from Vera Chechenyeva (Kiev, Ukraine) to doctors from Poland, Romania, Moldova, Czech, Lithuanian, Latvia: could you, please, be so kind to send your contact data where our refugees can receive TB, ART or any pediatric help:
Country
City
Name of Institution
Address
Contact Name
Phone number (including country code please)
Email
support you can provide: TB Treatment, Antiretroviral Treatment, Common Pediatrician Help, Psychological, Social
Please send your contact data to the ESPID secretariat: admin@espid.org and this will be forwarded on and shared with pTBnet.
CHILDREN‘S DOCTORS AGAINST THE WAR: CALL FOR ACTION NOW
Brussels, March 10, 2022
Two weeks have passed since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine. Despite 141 countries voting in the UN General Assembly for the Russian army to stop fighting and withdraw from another sovereign country, Ukraine, the fighting is increasingly bloody and brutal. The war has led to 2.5 million people including about 1 million children fleeing from their homes and becoming refugees. There are 79 children confirmed killed including 18 months old infant in Mariupol. Most of child fatalities result from attacks from the air or with rockets.
We stand together with Ukrainian children, families and the heroic medical and nursing staff calling for the action now:
– we ask the governments of our countries to do more to ensure the safety of children in Ukraine, to stop the war and first of all to stop rockets and bombs attacks on civil infrastructure of Ukraine; – we ask Russian paediatricians and especially leaders of paediatric organizations in Russia to express clear and loud position against the war in Ukraine and to do everything in their power to stop the war; – we confirm once again solidarity and professional support for children’s doctors and nurses in Ukraine.
Our voices are stronger than rockets and bombs! Slava Ukraine!
A webinar on post-COVID-19 condition in children jointly organised by the ECDC and the European Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID) took place on 10 November 2021.
The webinar enabled the sharing of experiences and epidemiological data on post-COVID-19 condition in children between researchers with the aim of shaping future priorities for the condition across Europe.
Participants included members of ESPID, ECDC’s national focal points for COVID-19, and representatives from EU/EEA countries’ National Immunisation Technical Advisory Groups (NITAGs). Presentations from ECDC, Germany, Italy, Finland, and the United Kingdom provided data in the areas of surveillance and epidemiology of post-COVID-19 condition in the paediatric population. The lack of a standardised syndrome definition and harmonised surveillance protocol were highlighted.
The webinar concluded that while challenges remain to identify the burden of post-COVID-19 condition and its consequences in children, some established networks exist. A collaborative approach involving public health specialists and expert groups is essential in responding to these public health challenges. The importance of developing a European network to assist in better understanding the syndrome, its public health consequences, and burden was endorsed. To watch the webinar click below:
ESPID is happy to invite you to the opening of the ESPID Research Café, where you will be presented with ongoing research proposals, and the possibility of communicating and sharing your input with the authors.
The first research proposal comes from Bieke Tack, MD, PhD candidate, under the topic of International recommendations on blood culture sampling methods in neonates. Find out everything about it here.
We hope you enjoy your break at the ESPID Research Café!
Group B Strep info translated into 14 NEW languages
“Group B Streptococcus (GBS) in pregnancy and newborn babies” leaflet has been translated from English into 14 languages. The leaflets are now available in:
We are delighted to announce the relaunching of the Wiser Immuniser course on the ESPID Education site. The modules of the course have been written by world-experts in the field of vaccinology.
The course now has been extensively reviewed and updated by ESPID and WHO experts. We like to take this opportunity to thank all authors who participated in the reviewing process.
The course is freely available at no cost to ESPID members. It is self-paced so you may start and finish at a time that is convenient to you.
We hope that this is a useful learning resource for you.
To access ESPID Education simply visit the site here. Not yet an ESPID member? click here
PIDS Foundation Announces the Revamped RFA for the Pichichero Family Foundation Research Award in Pediatric Infectious Diseases
Have you recently submitted an NIH or CDC award that just missed the payline? If so, the Pichichero Family Foundation Research Award in Pediatric Infectious Diseases may be a great way to build the additional data you need to launch a new area of investigation.
“Having been a grant-funded investigator for many years and serving on multiple study sections, I know firsthand how challenging the grant process is,” said Dr. Michael Pichichero, Director, Research Institute, Rochester General Hospital. The Pichichero Family Foundation seeks to stand in the gap that often exists between NIH paylines and good science that narrowly misses the mark by providing research grants to well deserving proposals. Beginning November 1, the PIDS Foundation will review repurposed NIH and CDC grants, with study section comments, on a rolling basis. Proposals that were reviewed favorably, but fell below the payline, will be eligible for funding. For more information, please review the Request for Proposalsor contact Christy Phillips at PIDS:pids@idsociety.org
New Partnership with European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID)
We are pleased to announce that the European Society of Paediatric Infectious Diseases (ESPID) and European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) have signed a memorandum of understanding for the future partnership of the two societies with the aim of fostering collaborative relationships to strengthen practice, education and advocacy for paediatric infectious diseases.
ESPID Podcast - Conversations on Paediatric Infectious Diseases
As part of our new 4-part podcast series, ESPID brings you leaders in paediatric infectious diseases, discussing their experiences, viewpoints and more.
The European Academy of Paediatrics invite you to share the resources they have put together during the pandemic, and to visit their Resource Centre. This includes a number of elements which youmayht find interesting and helpful:
·Links to the weekly webinars that we have run over the last 2 months addressing a range of practical, academic and psychological aspects of the crisis
·Daily blogs and updates with links to helpful sites and breaking news
·A ‘Children’s Corner’ with advice on activities and links to useful resources for families
