Campylobacteriosis is the most frequently reported food borne infection in Switzerland. We investigated determinants of infections and illness experience in wintertime. A case–control study was conducted in Switzerland between December 2012 and February 2013. Cases were recruited among laboratory-confirmed campylobacteriosis patients. Population-based controls were matched according to age group, sex and canton of residence. We determined risk factors associated with campylobacteriosis, and help seeking behaviour and illness perception. The multivariable analysis identified two factors associated with an increased risk for campylobacteriosis: consumption of meat fondue (matched odds ratio [mOR] 4.0, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 2.3–7.1) and travelling abroad (mOR 2.7, 95 % CI 1.1–6.4). Univariable analysis among meat fondue consumers revealed chicken as the type of meat with the highest risk of disease (mOR 3.8, 95 % CI 1.1–13.5). Most frequently reported signs and symptoms among patients were diarrhoea (98 %), abdominal pain (81 %), fever (66 %), nausea (44 %) and vomiting (34 %). The median perceived disease severity was 8 on a 1-to-10 rating scale. Patients reported a median duration of illness of 7 days and 14 % were hospitalised. Meat fondues, mostly “Fondue chinoise”, traditionally consumed during the festive season in Switzerland, are the major driver of the epidemic campylobacteriosis peak in wintertime. At these meals, individual handling and consumption of chicken meat may play an important role in disease transmission. Laboratory-confirmed patients are severely ill and hospitalisation rate is considerable. Public health measures such as decontamination of chicken meat and improved food handling behaviour at the individual level are urgently needed.

Clinical isolates of Campylobacter spp. and Salmonella spp. are notifiable in Switzerland. In 1995, Campylobacter replaced Salmonella as the most frequently reported food-borne pathogen. We analysed notification data (1988-2013) for these two bacterial, gastrointestinal pathogens of public health importance in Switzerland. Notification rates were calculated using data for the average resident population. Between 1988 and 2013, notified campylobacteriosis cases doubled from 3,127 to 7,499, while Salmonella case notifications decreased, from 4,291 to 1,267. Case notifications for both pathogens peaked during summer months. Campylobacter infections showed a distinct winter peak, particularly in the 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14 winter seasons. Campylobacter case notifications showed more frequent infection in males than females in all but 20-24 year-olds. Among reported cases, patients' average age increased for campylobacteriosis but not for salmonellosis. The inverse trends observed in case notifications for the two pathogens indicate an increase in campylobacteriosis cases. It appears unlikely that changes in patients' health-seeking or physicians' testing behaviour would affect Campylobacter and Salmonella case notifications differently. The implementation of legal microbiological criteria for foodstuff was likely an effective means of controlling human salmonellosis. Such criteria should be decreed for Campylobacter, creating incentives for producers to lower Campylobacter prevalence in poultry.

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Given the importance of epidemiological work to policy and individual decisions in health care, the Epidemiology Group of the Swiss Society for Public Health decided to propose the following Essentials of Good Epidemiological Practice (EGEP). These recommendations are intended for all persons and institutions who are involved in commissioning, planning, preparation, conduct, analysis, assessment, review, valorisation or financial support of epidemiological studies. We aimed to propose minimum standards for practices and procedures that should help to ensure good quality and integrity of epidemiological research, and to foster adequate reporting of the research results. The EGEP do not prescribe specific research methods, but state general and essential principles that provide 1. a standard reference to assist epidemiologists and allied scientists in public health research to adhere to good epidemiological practices, 2. a framework for the assessment of epidemiological work, 3. a structure to facilitate communication and collaboration among those involved in epidemiological studies, and 4. references for further information and consultation. nor to debate ethical principles of epidemiology. Instead, references have been made to previously published documents. Epidemiology is a scientific discipline that studies the frequency, distribution, and determinants of diseases or health disorders in defined populations. Epidemiologists study conditions of good health, as well as the different factors influencing onset, course, and consequences of diseases and possible methods of prevention (Last 2001).In epidemiology two main types of studies can be distinguished: observational studies and interventional studies.

ObjectivesThe objectives were to measure uptake of and factors associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination initiation and to determine whether HPV vaccination reduced the uptake of cervical cancer screening.MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey in a random sample of Swiss women aged 18–49 years in 2014 (N = 3588).ResultsVaccination initiation was 69.3% and full coverage (three doses) 54.1% for 18–20-year olds, respectively, 42.4% and 33.9% for 21–24-year olds. Women with ≥ 10 lifetime sexual partners were less likely to have received any HPV vaccination than women with ≤ 2 partners (18–20 years OR 0.2, 21–24 years OR 0.5). Amongst 1000 unvaccinated women (18–24 years), reasons for not having initiated vaccination were lack of information (22.5%) and fear of vaccine side effects (18.1%). Vaccination status was not associated with adherence to cervical cancer screening recommendations (OR 1.3). 95.4% of all vaccinated participants knew about the continued need for screening.ConclusionsOur data suggest that HPV vaccination is not associated with reduced uptake of cervical cancer screening. This study provides information that can be used to improve HPV vaccination uptake in Switzerland.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00038-017-1050-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.