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In Western Europe, the incidence of both respiratory and cutaneous diphtheria, caused by toxin-producing Corynebacterium diphtheriae , Corynebacterium ulcerans or Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis , has been low over the past few decades thanks to the use of an effective vaccine and a high level of vaccination coverage. However, the disease has still not been eradicated and continues to occur in all of Europe. In order to prevent sequelae or a fatal outcome, diphtheria antitoxin (DAT) should be administered to suspected diphtheria patients as soon as possible, but economic factors and issues concerning regulations have led to poor availability of DAT in many countries. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and World Health Organization have called for European Union-wide solutions to this DAT-shortage. In order to illustrate the importance of these efforts and underline the need for continued diphtheria surveillance, we present data on all registered cases of toxigenic and non-toxigenic C. diphtheriae , C. ulcerans and C. pseudotuberculosis in Belgium during the past decade, up to and including 2017.

The incidence of whooping cough, a contagious respiratory disease caused by Bordetella pertussis, is on the rise despite existing vaccination programmes. Similar, though usually milder, respiratory symptoms may be caused by other members of the Bordetella genus: B. parapertussis, B. holmesii, and B. bronchiseptica. Pertussis diagnosis is mostly done using PCR, but the use of multiple targets is necessary in order to differentiate the different Bordetella spp. with sufficient sensitivity and specificity. In this study we evaluate a multiplex PCR assay for the differentiation of B. pertussis from other Bordetella spp., using the targets IS481, IS1001, IS1002, and recA. Moreover, we retrospectively explore the epidemiology of Bordetella spp. infections in Belgium, using the aforementioned assay over a three-year period, from 2013 until 2015.