Vibrio cholerae O1 strains with decreased susceptibility to fluoroquinolones in travellers returning from India (Rajasthan) to France, April 2007.

International audiencebreed earlier. This may have lead to an early increase in the bank vole population and probably also to a higher hantavirus prevalence. Moreover, humans may have been more exposed to rodent droppings due to increased outdoor activities (recreational and occupational) in forests and gardens resulting in higher case numbers during the winter season 2006/07. It is unclear, however, why the hantavirus infections among humans so far appear to be restricted to the endemic area in Baden-Wuerttemberg. To specifically address questions about risk factors in humans, population size and Puumala virus prevalence in bank voles, Public Health authorities in Baden-Wuerttemberg have started further investigations in collaboration with the Robert Koch Institute. If the actual hantavirus continuous to be mainly restricted to Baden-Wuerttemberg it will be interesting to identify factors responsible for this phenomenon. A case-control study has been initiated to identify risk factors for human infection, and bank vole trapping will give insight in the currently circulating Puumala virus subtypes in the rodent population and a rough overview of the population size. A press release was issued in April 2007 to inform the public about the situation and to give recommendations for the prevention of exposure to hantavirus [9]. For a better understanding of the bank vole population dynamics as well as epidemiologic patterns and risk factors of human hantavirus infections in Germany, monitoring of the reservoir and further epidemiologic studies among humans will be necessary. References