Louse-borne relapsing fever (Borrelia recurrentis) diagnosed in 15 refugees from northeast Africa: epidemiology and preventive control measures, Bavaria, Germany, July to October 2015
Eurosurveillance·
- DOI
- 10.2807/1560-7917.es.2015.20.42.30046
- PMID
- 26538532
- PMCID
- —
- OpenAlex
- W2126631688
- Study type
- Journal article
- Publisher
- European Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (ECDC)
- Article type
- journal-article
- Integrity
- current
Why this research matters now
The report highlights the need for clinicians caring for refugees traversing north Africa to recognise louse-borne relapsing fever, in order to provide timely treatment and apply preventive measures.
Structured evidence summary
Research question
The study describes an outbreak investigation of imported louse-borne relapsing fever among refugees arriving in Bavaria, Germany, in mid- to late 2015, with attention to epidemiology and prevention.
Study design
A descriptive outbreak report of a case series of refugees diagnosed with louse-borne relapsing fever, summarising epidemiological findings and preventive considerations.
Population and setting
Fifteen refugees with louse-borne relapsing fever detected in Bavaria, Germany, between July and October 2015. All were young males from the Horn of Africa, predominantly Somalia, with shared migration routes through Sudan, Libya, and Italy.
Main findings
Fifteen imported louse-borne relapsing fever cases were identified in a single German federal state over roughly three months, with one death reported. Most patients were young Somali men whose migration paths converged in Sudan before continuing via Libya and Italy, and infection was likely acquired during the journey.
Public-health relevance
The report highlights the need for clinicians caring for refugees traversing north Africa to recognise louse-borne relapsing fever, in order to provide timely treatment and apply preventive measures.
Important limitations
The abstract does not state explicit limitations. This summary is restricted to the supplied single-article abstract and metadata, and the original paper is required for decision-grade interpretation.
GIDS interpretation
The article is discoverable through classifiers for relapsing fever and for the countries along the documented migration corridor, as well as for travel medicine topics, which may support contextual retrieval but does not by itself confirm any current surveillance signal.
Related GIDS surveillance
Literature context does not validate, explain, or change a surveillance signal. Exact and contextual relationships are shown separately.
Evidence relationships
This article has 14 auditable classifier relationships to diseases, places, topics, and study design.