First cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the WHO European Region, 24 January to 21 February 2020

Gianfranco Spiteri (1) , James Fielding (2) , Michaela Diercke (3) , Christine Campese (4) , Vincent Enouf (5) , Alexandre Gaymard (6) , Antonino Bella (7) , Paola Sognamiglio (8) , Maria José Sierra Moros (9) , Antonio Nicolau Riutort , Yulia Demina (10) , Romain Mahieu , Markku Broas , Malin Bengnér , Silke Buda (3) , Julia Schilling , Laurent Filleul (11) , Agnès Lepoutre (4) , Christine Saura (12) , Alexandra Mailles (4) , Daniel Levy-Bruhl (4) , Bruno Coignard (4) , Sibylle Bernard-Stoecklin (4) , Sylvie Behillil (5) , Sylvie van der Werf (5) , Martine Valette , Bruno Lina , Flavia Riccardo , Emanuele Nicastri , Inmaculada Casas , Amparo Larrauri , Magdalena Salom Castell , Francisco Pozo , Rinat Maksyutov , Charlotte Martin , Marc van Ranst (13) , Nathalie Bossuyt (14) , Lotta Siira (15) , Jussi Sane , Karin Tegmark-Wisell , Maria Palmérus , Eeva Broberg , Julien Beauté , Pernille Jorgensen , Nick Bundle , Dmitriy Pereyaslov , Cornelia Adlhoch , Jukka Pukkila , Richard Pebody , Sonja Olsen , Bruno Christian Ciancio

1 ECDC - European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control [Stockholm, Sweden]
2 WHO Regional Office for Europe [Copenhagen]
3 RKI - Robert Koch Institute [Berlin]
4 Santé publique France - French National Public Health Agency [Saint-Maurice, France]
5 CNR - laboratoire coordonnateur - Centre National de Référence des virus des infections respiratoires (dont la grippe) - National Reference Center Virus Influenzae [Paris]
6 CNR - laboratoire associé - Centre National de Référence des Virus des Infections Respiratoires (dont la Grippe) [Lyon]
7 ISS - Istituto Superiore di Sanità
8 INMI - Istituto Nazionale di Malattie Infettive "Lazzaro Spallanzani"
9 CCAES - Centro de Coordinacion de Alertas y Emergencias Sanitarias - Coordination Centre for Health Alerts and Emergencies [Madrid, Spain]
10 Rospotrebnadzor - Federal Service for Surveillance on Consumer Rights Protection and Human Well-being [Moscow, Russia]
11 Santé publique France Nouvelle-Aquitaine [Bordeaux]
12 Santé publique France Auvergne‑Rhône‑Alpes
13 Rega Institute for Medical Research [Leuven, België]
14 Sciensano [Bruxelles]
15 FIHW - Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare [Helsinki, Finland]

In the WHO European Region, COVID-19 surveillance was implemented 27 January 2020. We detail the first European cases. As at 21 February, nine European countries reported 47 cases. Among 38 cases studied, 21 were linked to two clusters in Germany and France, 14 were infected in China. Median case age was 42 years; 25 were male. Late detection of the clusters’ index cases delayed isolation of further local cases. As at 5 March, there were 4,250 cases.

Domains: Life Sciences [q-bio]

Gianfranco Spiteri, James Fielding, Michaela Diercke, Christine Campese, Vincent Enouf, et al.. First cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the WHO European Region, 24 January to 21 February 2020. Eurosurveillance, 2020, 25 (9), ⟨10.2807/1560-7917.ES.2020.25.9.2000178⟩. ⟨pasteur-04098523⟩