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Background New forms of HIV/AIDS therapy require new surveillance instruments to meet shifting public health demands. The Clinical Surveillance of HIV Disease (ClinSurv HIV) project was established in 1999 as a collaboration between major HIV treatment centres in Germany and the Robert Koch Institute (RKI). The project contributes to national HIV surveillance and focuses on the changing epidemiology of HIV/AIDS after the introduction of new therapies in 1995. Methods ClinSurv HIV is designed as an open multicentre observational cohort study of HIV‐infected patients. Anonymized data on diagnoses, treatment and laboratory parameters are collected in a standardized format. Data are currently sampled biannually via 11 centres specializing in HIV diagnosis and care within the legal framework of the German Protection against Infection Act [Infektionsschutzgesetz (IfSG)]. Results A total of 14 874 patients were enrolled in the study by 30 June 2009. Of these, 10 221 patients (68.7%) were enrolled after 1 January 1999 and 6006 patients (40.4%) were known to have been diagnosed as positive for HIV before 1999. Evaluation indicators, such as the number of newly enrolled patients per half‐year period, loss to follow‐up, completeness of data per case, availability of data per possible clinical contact, and internal quality control parameters, show a very stable evolution in the cohort, which although open, can be observed. Comparison with the national HIV surveillance data suggests a high degree of representativeness according to major demographic variables. Conclusion Bearing in mind the obvious strengths and weaknesses discussed, the German ClinSurv HIV cohort provides a broad range of research opportunities in the field of HIV/AIDS both within Germany and in international collaborative research.

ObjectiveWe aimed to quantify progress towards measles elimination in Germany from 2007 to 2011 and to estimate any potential underreporting over this period.MethodsWe determined the annual incidence of notified cases of measles – for each year – in northern, western, eastern and southern Germany and across the whole country. We then used measles-related health insurance claims to estimate the corresponding incidence.FindingsIn each year between 2007 and 2011, there were 6.9–19.6 (mean: 10.8) notified cases of measles per million population. Incidence decreased with age and showed geographical variation, with highest mean incidence – 20.3 cases per million – in southern Germany. Over the study period, incidence decreased by 10% (incidence rate ratio, IRR: 0.90; 95% confidence interval, CI: 0.85–0.95) per year in western Germany but increased by 77% (IRR: 1.77; 95% CI: 1.62–1.93) per year in eastern Germany. Although the estimated incidence of measles based on insurance claims showed similar trends, these estimates were 2.0- to 4.8-fold higher than the incidence of notified cases. Comparisons between the data sets indicated that the underreporting increased with age and was generally less in years when measles incidence was high than in low-incidence years.ConclusionGermany is still far from achieving measles elimination. There is substantial regional variation in measles epidemiology and, therefore, a need for region-specific interventions. Our analysis indicates underreporting in the routine surveillance system between 2007 and 2011, especially among adults.

BackgroundThe Project on a Framework for Rating Evidence in Public Health (PRECEPT) was initiated and is being funded by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) to define a methodology for evaluating and grading evidence and strength of recommendations in the field of public health, with emphasis on infectious disease epidemiology, prevention and control. One of the first steps was to review existing quality appraisal tools (QATs) for individual research studies of various designs relevant to this area, using a question-based approach.MethodsThrough team discussions and expert consultations, we identified 20 relevant types of public health questions, which were grouped into six domains, i.e. characteristics of the pathogen, burden of disease, diagnosis, risk factors, intervention, and implementation of intervention. Previously published systematic reviews were used and supplemented by expert consultation to identify suitable QATs. Finally, a matrix was constructed for matching questions to study designs suitable to address them and respective QATs. Key features of each of the included QATs were then analyzed, in particular in respect to its intended use, types of questions and answers, presence/absence of a quality score, and if a validation was performed.ResultsIn total we identified 21 QATs and 26 study designs, and matched them. Four QATs were suitable for experimental quantitative study designs, eleven for observational quantitative studies, two for qualitative studies, three for economic studies, one for diagnostic test accuracy studies, and one for animal studies. Included QATs consisted of six to 28 items. Six of the QATs had a summary quality score. Fourteen QATs had undergone at least one validation procedure.ConclusionsThe results of this methodological study can be used as an inventory of potentially relevant questions, appropriate study designs and QATs for researchers and authorities engaged with evidence-based decision-making in infectious disease epidemiology, prevention and control.

Pandemic measures to mitigate the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 in Germany led to cancellations of routine vaccination appointments for both adults and children. Survey data indicate that, with easing pandemic restrictions, many cancelled appointments were rescheduled or caught up. Nevertheless, 40% of cancelled appointments were still not rescheduled and were primarily cancelled by patients. Therefore, doctors should regularly remind patients of vaccinations and use every visit to improve their vaccination statuses.